Friv makes twenty superheroes!

So, this is a project that I put together over on another roleplaying forum, and it was pointed out that it might be appreciated here! It’s technically complete, but I’m going to update it gradually on this site so that there is time for commentary from anyone who’s interested.

Specifically, I built twenty heroes using the Guided Method, using all twenty Backgrounds, all twenty Power Sources, all twenty Archetypes, all twenty Personalities, and every Quality and Power in the book.

I used the Guided Method, with a few restrictions and modifications:

• I have to actually plot each step before I know what the next step is; no peeking ahead!
• If I roll an option that I’ve used on an earlier character in the project, I can’t use it again.
• If every option that I roll can’t be used again, I’ll take the sum of the two dice, and then keeping adding 1 until I hit an option I can use (looping around to 1 if necessary.)
• At each of the first three steps of the Process (Background, Power Source, and Archetype) I will include at least one trait that I haven’t picked before, if possible. This won’t give me every Quality or Power in the game, but it will hit the bulk of them. (There are 24 Qualities and 54 Powers, for a total of 78 traits, and this should ensure that at least 50-60 of them are represented.) If I hit a point in which every single possible choice has been taken, I can do what I want.
• If possible, I need to use new Principles, as well. There are 64 Principles in the game and I’m only picking 40, so this should be generally doable.
• I also can’t take any Red Abilities that I took for an earlier character. As there are 67 Red Abilities, and I’ll be picking 40-60 of them, this should not be a problem. (I actually broke this rule in a couple of places near the end.)

Once I create all twenty of my heroes, I’m going to organize them on to five pregen superhero teams, ranging from 3-5 members each.

I hope you’ll be interested in following along this challenge, starting with…

Step 1: Background

Rolling for our first hero, my random results are 9 and 5. This gives me starting Background choices of Unremarkable, Performer, and Anachronistic.

Let’s start with the simplest. Our Unremarkable hero is just a normal person going about her daily business. Unremarkable get a lot of options, and it’s pretty funny to me that one of them is Close Combat, because that does not feel unremarkable. I’m going to go with the classics – Conviction d10, Banter d8. Our hero has a strong sense of self and a quick mouth, but not a lot of marketable skills.

For our first Principle, we get Identity. Since this is a newcomer learning about all our fellow heroes, I’m going to give her the Principle of Discovery to start.

I’m also going to call her Sarah, just because it feels right. She has an unremarkable job manning the phones at a not-for-profit and always does the right thing, but she’s feeling a bit stuck in her life.

Step 2: Power Source

We’ve got d10, d8, d6 for our Power Source, so let’s get rolling! This nets me 7, 1, and 5, for the following Power Source options: Accident, Mystical, Nature, Relic, Powered Suit, or Artificial Being. As funny as Artificial Being on our unremarkable friend is, I’m going to go with a Relic.

I get three Powers out of this, which will help me decide what Sarah’s relic is. Since she’s a Conviction-based person, I think she has the ability to share that with others, giving her Telepathy d10; it’s not that she controls minds, but she can share her true feelings with others. She can also turn Intangible (d8), becoming no more than a thought on the wind. Finally, she has strong Intuition (d6) about what the correct course of action is.

Based on this, I think that the relic that Sarah has received is the Mantle of Hope; a dying man pressed the gossamer-thin fabric into her hands as she tried to help him on the street, and it has bonded to her soul.

For Yellow Abilities, she takes Relic Drain, which lets her Hinder an enemy and Recover. This uses her Telepathy, as she shows enemies why they shouldn’t fight, and restores her own power by seeing their hesitation. She also takes Magical Shield, which lets her defend allies by momentarily turning them intangible. For her Green Ability, she takes Punishment; inflicting penalties on her just opens you up to counter-attacks.

Step 3: Archetype

Sarah’s Archetype dice are d10, d10, and d6. Rolling that, I get 9, 10, and 3. That opens up Physical Powerhouse, Elemental Manipulator, Robot/Cyborg, Psychic, Transporter and Divided. As much as it might make sense, I think it’s a bit early for me to dive into Divided, so I’m going to stick with Psychic.

Sarah needs at least one more psychic power, so she takes Illusions d10. She also takes a d10 in Magical Lore, as the Mantle has gifted her with vast knowledge of magical things, and a d6 in Part Detachment; since her parts are as much thoughts as physical, being separated isn’t a big problem.

For her Abilities, Sarah grabs Psychic Assault, weaving illusions so real that they can briefly harm people, and Psychic Coordination, letting her use her Telepathy to get everyone in perfect synch. For Yellow Abilities, she only has three choices, and she picks Psychic Analysis using her Conviction, and Telepathic Whammy.

Finally, Sarah gets a second Principle – the Principle of Destiny. The Mantle is meant for a purpose, and Sarah is now the one guiding it towards that end. Even if she falls, it will carry on. There are likely other Mantles out there as well, possibly pushing towards some destiny of their own. (There’s a good chance that this is related to the Host somehow, for Sentinels fans, but exactly how is yet to be determined.)

Step 4: Personality

Rolling 2d10 for Personality gives me 8 and 9, which opens up Fast-Talking, Inquisitive, and Naïve. Of those, Inquisitive feels most in line with the strong-willed person of conviction we’ve heard to date, so that’s what we take. We’re also giving a Quality based on Sarah’s back story, and I think it’s going to be “Activist d8.” She has connections and friends who fight the system, and knows how to start trouble for a good cause.

Step 5: Red Abilities

It just feels right to dip into Mental and Psychic for Sarah’s two Red Abilities. Her first power is Dire Control, reskinned as Conversion. Sarah can literally turn a minion to her side when her force of will and desperation gets strong enough. They’re ‘defeated’ at the end of the scene, as they struggle with their feelings; they might turn good long-term, or fall back into bad habits. Her second power, For The Cause, lets her use her Conviction to Overcome a problem, and hinder all nearby enemies as they hesitate to face her.

Step 6: Retcon

The one thing that’s missing from Sarah’s sheet right now is a Reaction that affects herself, so let’s go ahead and give her one. Empowerment allows her to use her Intangible as a Defend and Boost at the same time, which is pretty great.

Step 7: Health

Sarah’s Health is (8 + Red 10 + Conviction 10 + 4) giving her a total of 32 Health. Not too shabby.

Step 8: Alias

With her stats complete and her approach laid it, it’s time for Sarah’s alias. She is Covenant, a promise made to protect those with hope in their hearts, and a shining light for a better world.

Character Sheet

Covenant

Alias: Sarah Lawson

Background: Unremarkable, Power Source: Relic, Archetype: Psychic, Personality: Inquisitive

Principles: Principle of Discovery (Identity), Principle of Destiny (Esoteric)

• Minor Twists: What new discovery causes you to rethink what you are doing? What omen of dire fortune did you just witness?
• Major Twists: What new discovery must you keep hidden at all costs? What heinous prophecy just came true?

Status Dice: Green d6**, Yellow** d8**, Red** d10

Health: 32 (Green 32-25, Yellow 24-12, Red 11-1)

Qualities:

• Conviction [Mental] d10
• Magical Lore [Information] d10
• Banter [Social] d8
• Activist [RP] d8

Powers:

• Telepathy (Psychic) d10
• Illusions (Psychic) d10
• Intangible (Self-Control) d8
• Intuition (Intellectual) d6
• Part Detachment (Self-Control) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of Discovery (A): When you’re on the forefront in making a discovery or invention and take an Overcome action to further your knowledge, use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Destiny (A): Overcome a situation directly connected to your destiny and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Psychic Assault (A): Attack an enemy with Illusions. Hinder them with your Min die.
• Psychic Coordination (A): Boost using Telepathy. Apply that bonus to all hero Attack and Overcome actions until the start of your next turn.
• Mental Feedback (I): Whenever you Attack an enemy that has inflicted a penalty on you, treat that penalty as if it were a bonus for the purpose of that Attack.

Yellow Abilities:

• Positive Thinking (A): Hinder an enemy with Telepathy. Also Recover Health equal to your Min die.
• Telepathic Whammy (A): Attack an enemy with Telepathy and use your Max die. Hinder that enemy with a persistent penalty using your Min die.
• Psychic Analysis (A): Boost yourself using Conviction. Either use your Max die, or use your Mid die and make it persistent.
• Fragment of Hope ®: When another hero in the Yellow or Red Zone would take damage, you may Defend them with your Intangibility.

Red Abilities:

• Conversion (A): Take control of a minion. They act at the start of your turn. If you are incapacitated, you lose control of them, and you can release them at any time. At the end of the scene, they are defeated.
• For The Cause (A): Overcome using Conviction. Use your Max + Min die. Hinder all nearby enemies using your Mid die.
• Pass Through ®: When you are attacked, roll your Intangible die as a Defend. Also Boost yourself with the same roll.

Out Ability: Choose an ally. Until your next turn, they may reroll one of their dice by using a Reaction.

Aftermath:
Our first hero meant that most of my restrictions weren’t in play yet, but I like how Covenant turned out. She’s got a strong focus in terms of expressing hope, even up to turning minor characters to her side through sheer willpower. The Host connection wasn’t one I had in mind to start, and it went to interesting places. I also like that she starts off aggressive with her weaker Status Die, and gains more defensive powers as she gets stronger. It’s an interesting approach that I think could work well.

There’s an interesting thing going on here where Covenant has a couple of low-ranking Powers that none of her Abilities use, and exist as much for flavour as actual rolling. Part Detachment as a thing that just happens is sort of neat, even if nothing particularly keys off it.

Nifty idea. It’s always fun seeing folks use the system. And since you’re doing everything, some of the less-used options will see light.

Agreed! I’ve wanted to try something like this, but just haven’t had the wherewithal yet.

Thanks, everyone! Looking forward to what you think of these folks. And speaking of folks…

Step 1: Background

For our second hero, I’ve rolled 9 and 8. That gives access to Tragic, Performer, and Interstellar for our origin. Our last hero was extremely grounded, so let’s go the other way and take an Interstellar hero.

Zam Tej is an alien from many light-years away, a member of the Ruuni, a species previously unseen in Sentinel Comics. He’s come to Earth in the aftermath of Oblivaeon for… reasons. Not sure why yet. Let’s look at his dice. He starts with a d12 and a d6 for Mental and Information skills; what about…

Creativity d12, Deep Space Knowledge d6. Zam is an interstellar artist enthralled by the idea of the world that kept existence alive.

This also gives Zam an Esoteric Principle, but none of these are great. I will give him the Principle of the Future. He has seen things about what is in store for Earth, and is following up on these visions.

Step 2: Power Source

Interstellar once again gives us d10, d8, d6 for our Power Source. I rolled 7, 7, and 1, which limits our choices to Accident, Nature, Relic and Cursed. I can’t take Relic, leaving three real choices, so… let’s be Cursed!

Zam’s world was stricken by a Scion of Oblivaeon, who shattered time around him and broke his world’s history. This is how Zam saw Oblivaeon’s defeat, and he hurried to Earth to be a part of it. He’s still kind of… messed up, temporally speaking.

Unfortunately, Cursed doesn’t do much for direct time powers, but Zam can control Cosmic energies (d10), and is incredibly durable with his Vitality (d8). Thanks to his weird relationship with time, he’s also got incredible Speed (d6).

For Abilities, Zam is taking the extremely powerful Costly Shape, which lets him boost everyone around him at the cost of hindering himself. He also Absorbs cosmic energy, replenishing his lifeforce and restoring his temporal nature.

Step 3: Archetype

Cursed lets us roll a d12 and a d6 for Archetype selection, so let’s get to work! My results were 4 and 6, which gives me access to Marksman, Close Quarters Combatant, and Robot/Cyborg. Given the shattered time stuff, I’m going to go for Marksman. Zam is perfectly precise in every way.

Zam possesses a d12 Signature Weapon – the Stitch. This is the potent weapon that our still-unnamed Scion used to break his world, which Zam claimed after defeating him. It fragments time as a weapon, creating point-paradoxes and hyper-age. The weapon needs a fine mind to wield, and Zam’s is the finest.

He also takes a d6 in Ranged Combat, because sometimes you just want to shoot someone in the face with cosmic energies.

For Abilities, Zam takes Spin and Shoot; he can wield time to attack while making it harder to affect him. He can also use his Creativity to put together fun plans with his Load. For Yellow, he can only use qualities, so his Hair-Trigger Reflexes creatively trash anyone who gets close, while his Exploding Ammo uses his ability to fight at range to wield the Stitch or his Cosmic energies against the environment.

Finally, Zam gets a Responsibility Principle. He takes the Principle of the Veteran; his entire world was ravaged, and he stood firm.

Step 4: Personality

Another straight two d10s, and this one gets us 5 and 9, giving us access to Sarcastic, Inquisitive, and Decisive. Once again, only two heroes in and an option is closed off. We’re going to go with Decisive. Zam is the sort of person who takes action, and sees it through.

For his roleplaying Quality, he just takes Temporally Wobbly. Time is just always a little bit weird around him. I thought of giving him something connected to his species, but I think they just mostly act human.

Step 5: Red Abilities

Hallmark and Mental are pretty obvious choice for Red Abilities, but instead I’ll be grabbing Eruption. A powerful Cosmic attack that also heals instead of hurting is too obvious a choice. And if things go really bad, he can reset time with Purification to rewind all the tactics that have changed the scene.

Step 6: Retcon

I went back and forth for a bit, but I added the Red Ability to let Zam boost himself when he gets hit by Cosmic energy. This means that his primary tactic on hitting Red is to try to get out of Red again by Erupting and healing a lot.

Step 7: Health

Zam is another beefy buddy. He has (8 + Red 8 + Creativity 12 + 4) 32 Health.

Step 8: Alias

I need a name for Zam’s superhero alter ego. Having arrived on Earth and gotten the idea that you need a name that reflects your powers and attitude, Zam has called himself Montage. It doesn’t actually fit perfectly. But he likes the idea of motion skipping bits and pieces, as part of an artistic endeavour.

Character Sheet

Montage

Alias: Zam Trej

Background: Interstellar, Power Source: Cursed, Archetype: Marksman, Personality: Decisive

Principles: Future (Esoteric), Veteran (Responsibility)

• Minor Twists: What unintended ripple did your actions have? What affected you emotionally about the current conflict?
• Major Twists: What ripple effect now threatens the future as you know it? How are you withdrawing from the current conflict?

Status Dice: Green d8, Yellow d8, Red d8

Health: 32 (Green 32-25, Yellow 24-12, Red 11-1)

Qualities:

• Creativity (Mental) d12
• Temporally Wobbly (RP) d8
• Deep Space Knowledge (Info) d6
• Ranged Combat (Physical) d6

Powers:

• The Stitch (Hallmark) d12
• Cosmic (Energy) d10
• Vitality (Athletic) d8
• Speed (Athletic) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Future (A): Overcome using your knowledge of possible futures and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of the Veteran (A): Overcome a tactical challenge using knowledge of a previous conflict and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• A Stitch In Time (A): Attack using The Stitch. Defend with your Min die.
• Inspiration (A): Boost using Creativity to create one bonus using your Max die and one using your Mid die.

Yellow Abilities:

• Depletion (A): Boost all nearby allies using Vitality. Use your Max+Mid die. Hinder yourself with your Min die.
• Time Warp (A): Attack or Overcome using Ranged Combat on an environmental target, using your Max + Min die. If you roll doubles, take a minor twist.
• Time To Shine ®: When a new target enters close range, attack them rolling only your Creativity die.
• Cosmic Locus (I): When you would take Cosmic damage, instead Recover that amount.

Red Abilities:

• Temporal Storm (A): Attack up to three targets with Cosmic, one of which must be you. Assign your Max, Med, and Min dice to those targets however you want.
• Rewind (A): Remove all bonuses and penalties from the scene. You cannot use this Ability again.
• Born To Die (I): When you would take Cosmic damage, instead Recover that amount and Boost yourself with the amount of damage that you would have taken.

Out Ability: Boost an Ally by rolling your Stitch die.

Aftermath:

So, Zam is a weird one. Marksman is not the Archetype I would have gone with if I’d had the call, but it gave me The Stitch, which is pretty great, so interesting. He’s extremely powerful when he can use his two d12 dice, but doesn’t have a lot of versatility if he’s not being Creative, so there’s a lot of mental energy a player is going to need.

The biggest thing I would probably have changed if I’d known the whole spread was Zam’s Cosmic immunity at Yellow. The Red version is a lot better, and works well with his Red power, enough so that I wanted to take it, but he’s not spraying a lot of cosmic energy around at Yellow like I imagined he would be.

Aside from that, this is definitely a character I wouldn’t have thought of building if I hadn’t gotten “Cursed” as an option, so I’m calling it a win.

Step 1: Background

We begin, as usual, with our classic 2d10 roll. This time I rolled 5 and 4, which gives me access to Adventurer, Unremarkable (or not) and Performer. I just did a creative sort, so let’s make an Adventurer!

This adventurer is going to have Leadership d8 and Fitness d10 as his two traits. Archibald Harsbury is the son of a wealthy family and easy-going explorer, who spends his time going to remote places, funding archeological digs, and generally making a nuisance of himself around the people who actually live or work there. He’s very good-natured, but maybe not that bright.

Being an Adventurer also gives Archibald an Expertise Principle. He picks the Principle of Mastery; he’s proud of his abilities, and is always looking for new ways to apply them.

Step 2: Power Source

Sadly, Adventurer only gives us three d8s for Power Source. My roll nets me 4, 4, and 2, giving me access to Training, Experimentation, Nature, and Powered Suit. Nature would make a certain amount of sense, but I’ve just had a brainstorm so I’m going with…. Powered Suit.

Archibald doesn’t just explore. His team has built a suit that he uses to explore places that humans straight-up can’t go. In the process, he’s begun to encounter the stranger, more malicious aspects of the Sentinels universe, who want to use those places as remote lairs, as well as the innocent and reclusive folk who live there, and he can’t just leave them in danger.

For dice, Archie has Powered Suit d8, Strength d8, and Wall-Crawling d8. It’s a classic strong, maneuverable suit that’s built for versatility over power.

For Yellow Abilities, Archie doesn’t have an element (which it has been pointed out to me doesn’t actually prevent taking Abilities that do things for elements, but I hadn’t thought of that when I was designing Archie), so he’s got to take the other two, boosting himself with his Power Suit and attacking enemies with his impressive Strength.

Step 3: Archetype

Powered Suit gives a d10 and two d6s to determine Archetype, driving the numbers down. I rolled 6, 4, and 5, which opens up Marksman (nope!), Blaster, Close Quarters Combatant, Elemental Manipulator, Robot/Cyborg, and Sorcerer. This is a bit rough. Robot/Cyborg overlaps a lot mechanically, Blaster and Elemental Manipulator require re-shifting to elemental powers, and Sorcerer, I think not. So I guess he’s a Close Quarters Combatant.

He gets a d10 for Close Combat, a d6 for Leaping for some extra mobility, and he puts his last d6 into Gadgets; the team makes a lot of neat little gizmos for Archie.

This Archetype gives a lot of Green Abilities, but they’re mostly direct combat. Flexible Stance seems like a given, especially with the power suit, letting Archie do a couple of things at once. Precise Strike lets him hit hard even when there’s a lot of problems in the way, and Defensive Strike lets him use his Fitness for protection. For his Yellow, he adds Throw Minion using Strength, because who doesn’t want to throw a minion?

Close Quarters Combatant gives a Responsibility Principle, and I’m going to stretch a touch to give Archie the Principle of the Team. His conservation team/media crew is well-known, and gives him both official permissions and a lot of flexibility with authorities and locals.

Step 4: Personality

I rolled a 2 and a 10 for Personality, which gives us access to Natural Leader, Alluring, and Nurturing. This actually kind of sucks, because most of Archie’s stuff unlocks early, and he has strong defenses to avoid getting sucked into Red early. But I’ll go ahead and make him Alluring, because of course he’s a sexy mess.

For his backstory, Archie gets “Media Conservationist d8”, which represents his performances and also his familiarity with the natural world.

Step 5: Red Abilities

Archie doesn’t have any Reactions right now, so a good one seems like a solid bet. A Reactive Defense lets him get into the fray and use his Close Combat to redirect damage to himself, and his Push Your Limits lets him do this repeatedly to just generally sacrifice himself to keep everyone alive.

Step 6: Retcon

While I was looking at the Athletic powers I saw an extremely funny combination, so I’m just going to go ahead and do it. I’m taking Reactive Strike. When Archie is the target of an attack, he can Attack his attacker by rolling his Strength die, plus any damage that he takes. The result of this is that Archie can take 2 irreducible damage every time someone nearby is attacked to redirect the attack to him, then Defend himself with d10+3, then Attack his attacker with d8+(damage taken).

This is not sustainable unless someone is really helping Archie recover, but that’s half the fun!

Step 7: Health

Archie’s health is a moderate 30 (8 + Red Die 10 + Strength 8 + 4). It’s not as big as it could be, but it’s solid.

Step 8: Alias

We still need a name for Archie, and it’s got to be tied to his media persona. He’s pretty open about who he is, but he travels the world as Archie The Adventurer!

Character Sheet

Archie The Adventurer

Alias: Archibald Harsbury

Background: Adventurer, Power Source: Powered Suit, Archetype: Close-Quarters Combatant, Personality: Alluring

Principles: Mastery (Expertise), Team (Responsibility)

• Minor Twists: How did your powers fail you in the moment? What embarrassment did you just cause as a member of your team?
• Major Twists: What side effects are you suffering from your powers? What major sanctions will you suffer as a result of your actions?

Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d10

Health: 30 (Green 30-23, Yellow 22-12, Red 11-1)

Qualities:

• Fitness (Physical) d10
• Close Combat (Physical) d10
• Leadership (Social) d8
• Media Conservationist d8

Powers:

• Powered Suit (Technology) d8
• Strength (Athletic) d8
• Wall-Crawling (Mobility) d8
• Leaping (Mobility) d6
• Gadgets (Technology) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of Mastery (A): Overcome in a situation that uses your powers in a new way and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of the Team (A): Overcome by using your status as an official representative and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Dual-Systems Mode (A): Take any two basic actions using Power Suit, each using your Min die.
• Turtle Up (A): Defend using Fitness. Attack with your Min die.
• One-Hit Punch (A): Attack using Close Combat. Ignore all penalties on this attack, ignore any Defend actions, and it cannot be affected by Reactions.
• Damage Reduction (I): Reduce physical damage you take by 1 in Green, 2 in Yellow, and 3 in Red.

Yellow Abilities:

• Adaptation (A): Boost yourself using Power Suit. That boost is persistent and exclusive.
• All-Out Attack (A): Attack up to three different targets using Strength. Apply your Max to one, your Mid to a second, and your Min to the third. If you roll doubles, take a minor twist or irreducible damage equal to that die.
• Toss-up (A): Attack a minion using Strength. Whatever that minion rolls as defense Attacks another target of your choice.

Red Abilities:

• Take The Hit ®: When a nearby ally is attack, you may become the target of the Attack and roll your single Close Combat die to defend yourself.
• Fight Back ®: When you are Attacked and dealt damage, you may Attack your attacker by rolling your single Strength die and adding the damage that you took.
• Burning Bright (I): You may take 1 irreducible damage to take an extra Reaction, any number of times per turn.

Out Ability: Boost an Ally by rolling your Power Suit die.

Aftermath

I think it’s interesting that both our second and third heroes have already had options closed off by prior heroes. Those low numbers show up a lot! I’m going to have to lean in on the over-10s when I get them.

Archie is an interesting one, but not the most mechanically sound. In Green, he’s really going to need some boosts from his team to get things done; he’s got a d6 status and a d8 maximum for his Powers, no strong way to Boost himself, and two of his three core Abilities use his Min die.

Once he hits Yellow, things start looking up; his status die improves, he can give himself a long-term Boost that will be very useful with all those Min effects, and he gets a pretty good crowd-clearing attack. And of course, in Red he can just absolutely burn himself out to tank and counter-attack an absurd number of hits, especially physical ones. He can’t take his main action to recover during all of this, though, so it’s a short-term plan.

Personality-wise, he seems fun! Just a fun-loving rich boy who gradually realizes that things are a bigger deal than he was originally imagining. Depending on how our teams shake out, other heroes could be part of his media crew, or just friends that work alongside it.

Continuing with one hero a day, here is #4…

Step 1: Background

Three down, seventeen to go! For Hero #4, our Background roll gives us an 8 and a 2. That gives us access to Blank Slate, Tragic, and Military.

Let’s build a Blank Slate. Our mystery woman doesn’t have a name yet. She awoke without one, based on whatever her Power Source is. So for the moment, let’s start her off with Alertness d8 and Stealth d10.

Blank Slate gives an Identity Principle, and the Principle of Amnesia seems entirely on-point, so Imma take that.

Step 2: Power Source

Blank Slate gives us a d10 and two d8s. Rolling them, I get 5, 3, and 7. This gives us access to Genetic, Mystical, Relic (nope!), Powered Suit (nope!!), Tech Upgrades, and Artificial Being.

As obvious as Artificial Being would be, I’m taking Tech Upgrades. Blank woke up in an aftercare room in a mysterious facility, with implanted technology in her and a lot of red alarms going off. She fled rather than wait to see, and the whole facility burned down mysteriously. She doesn’t know if she was a willing patient or a captive.

Blank is now a Lightning Calculator (d10), but has also gotten some substantial physical upgrades with superhuman Agility (d8). She’s also got a Nuclear (d8) power source inside her, which is properly shielded except when she doesn’t want it to be. This could be the root of what went wrong…

For Abilities, Blank takes an Energy Burst, letting her use her Nuclear power against a bunch of people, and Recharges herself with Lightning Calculator. For her Green, she grabs Indiscriminate Fabrication; when she starts calculating, she doesn’t always know who she’s helping.

Step 3: Archetype

Another d10, d8, d8 for Archetype. 3, 3, 4 doesn’t give us many choices. Physical Powerhouse, Marksman (nope!), Close Quarters Combatant (nuh-uh!) and Armored. So my choices are Strong, or Tough. That doesn’t line up with her earlier choices at all, but we can make a Powerhouse work, I think.

Strength (d10) is a given, and Close Combat (d8) covers the previous lack of physical Qualities. The last choice goes to Density Control (d8), for interesting shifts in mass created by her nuclear core.

For Abilities, Blank picks up the very strong Damage Resistant. She also takes Frontline Fighting with her Strength, to force enemies into close combat with her. At Yellow, she takes the Reaction that when she defeats an enemy with Strength, she can Recover. She is going to be a hard nut to crack.

Finally, Blank takes an Expertise Principle. Stealth would be interesting, but I think Blank is not fully used to her weird, indiscriminate strength, so I’m taking that.

Step 4: Personality

Blank’s personality roll gives us a 10 and an 8, which gives me access to Fast-Talking, Alluring, and Apathetic. I think she’s leaning Apathetic right now. For reasons that she’s not clear on, but suspects has to do with her implants not being tuned correctly, Blank feels everything in a muted way.

Her roleplaying quality is Mysterious Programming. Sometimes, she just gets prompts to do things, and if she goes along with those prompts she gets some results. This isn’t consistent, and it can’t be directed, and it kind of worries her, but here we are.

Step 5: Red Abilities

We don’t have anything tied to Blank’s Stealth, so let’s have her fade when things go bad. Book It lets her Hinder any number of enemies, using her Max die, and then end up somewhere else in the scene. And her overclocked systems can unleash an Unerring Strike to hit an enemy very precisely and very hard.

Step 6: Retcon

I’d like Blank to have a little bit of social skills, so she isn’t entirely falling back on running away whenever things get awkward (as funny as that is.) So for her Retcon, I’m going to give her Persuasion d6. This is definitely not as strong as boosting something Red, but it’s a nice layer of versatility.

Step 7: Health

We’re getting a lot of beefy friends. Blank’s Health is (8 + Strength 10 + Red 10 + 4) for a total of 32 Health, the third of our four to reach that high.

Step 8: Alias

So I guess Blank needs a name, in addition to a hero name. I’m going to go with Patience Smith, mainly because it is a pun on Patient. For her superhero name, she’s a beefy fighter with nuclear power, so let’s call her Atomizer!

Character Sheet

Atomizer

Alias: Patience Smith

Background: Blank Slate, Power Source: Tech Upgrades, Archetype: Physical Powerhouse, Personality: Apathetic

Principles: Amnesia (Identity), Strength (Expertise)

• Minor Twists: You have a flash of your former life that distracts you. What was it? What just broke?
• Major Twists: A shocking detail of your past changes the current situation – how does it affect the scene? Who just broke?

Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d10

Health: 32 (Green 32-25, Yellow 24-12, Red 11-1)

Qualities:

• Stealth (Physical) d10
• Close Combat (Physical) d10
• Alertness (Mental) d8
• Mysterious Programming d8
• Persuasion (Social) d6

Powers:

• Lightning Calculator (Intellectual) d10
• Strength (Athletic) d10
• Agility (Athletic) d8
• Nuclear (Energy) d8
• Density Control (Self-Control) d8

Green Abilities:

• Principle of Amnesia (A): Overcome a situation where a completely fresh perspective is useful and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Strength (A): Overcome using brute force and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Indiscriminate Fabrication (A): Boost using Lightning Calculator. Use your Max, Mid, and Min dice to create three bonuses. One must go to an enemy.
• Stuck In (A): Attack with Strength. The target of the attack must use their next action to Attack you, if possible.
• Damage Resistant (I): Reduce all physical and energy damage by 1 in the Green Zone, 2 in Yellow, and 3 in Red.

Yellow Abilities:

• Nuclear Blast (A): Attack multiple enemies with Nuclear. Use your Min die.
• Reorient (A): Boost yourself using Lightning Calculator. Then either remove a penalty on yourself or Recover using your Min die.
• Surge of Strength ®: When you defeat an enemy with Strength, Recover using your Min die.

Red Abilities:

• Book It (A): Hinder multiple enemies with Stealth. Use your Max die. Then end your action anywhere in the scene.
• Fracture Point (A): Attack an enemy with Lightning Calculator. Use your Max + Min die. Ignore all penalties to the attack, ignore any Defend actions, and it can’t be affected by Reactions.

Out Ability: Remove a bonus or penalty of your choice.

Aftermath

Even more choices blocked off, but I think we got something interesting. I like how I was opening with “upgrades to make Patience faster, stealthy, and quick-thinking” and then ran face-first into “but actually she is a brick.” It totally shifting the tone of the character, in a way that I think worked out. If I were Guiding her in a vacuum, I would probably have gone with Marksman as her Archetype to line up with the stealth, but this works!

Patience is a character who probably needs to be drawn into a story; I would integrate her with a team by asking another PC to have found her early on, and she’s living with them while she tries to figure out what the heck’s going on and doing superhero work more out of a desire to fit in than a drive right now. There’s a lot of story potential in her head being full of not-fully-functional technology from a mysterious and unknown source – was she meant to be a hero, and villains destroyed her lab before she was done? Was she an innocent test subject of a malevolent agency? Was she just a slightly amoral person whose experiments went terribly wrong? Or worst of all, was she a supervillain herself? There are a lot of ways her story could go.

Step 1: Background

Twenty percent complete, and trucking on. Our fifth Background roll is 4 and 8, giving us Adventurer (nope!), Tragic, and Criminal. Let’s lean into to an ex-con, with our criminal buddy Cameron Reddican.

Cameron is going to take Imposing d10 and Criminal Underworld d8. They grew up on the wrong side of the law, distrusting the system, and learned to use their attitude to keep trouble low. I think they mostly handled small-time crimes; fencing goods and running numbers for a local mob.

Criminals get an Expertise Principle, and Cameron is going to take the Principle of the Tactician. They’re cool-headed and have a plan for everything. But they may not have had a plan for…

Step 2: Power Source

Our class three d8s for Power Source nets Cameron 8, 8, and 2, which gives us Training, Powered Suit (nope), Tech Upgrades (nope), and Cosmos. So I’m going to have to go with Cosmos. Now, how does a low-level criminal get awesome cosmic powers, especially one known for… oh, of course.

Cameron got hired as the tactician and numbers folk for a mysterious heist. In truth, the heist was being run by Wager Master, the Cosmic Trickster! Wager Master just really wanted to watch a heist movie, and there wasn’t anything good on Netflix, so he went ahead and made his own, with a bunch of ways for the crooks to betray each other for profit. Right near the end, Cameron used the McGuffin they were stealing and put themselves at risk to save the life of a teammate who had previously betrayed them, which coincidentally was the win condition that Wager Master had secretly built into the scenario. It was all such good entertainment that Wager Master let them have the powers, congratulated them, and said that he’d be back to check in next time he wanted a good show.

Cameron does not know how to feel about this, but they always said that the thing keeping them from doing good was that the system was rigged against them, so they’ve decided to hold to that and become a superhero.

Cameron definitely has superhuman Intuition (d8) and can use their Suggestion (d8) to influence people to follow their desired plans. Finally, their Invisibility (d8) relies on fading into the background and becoming unimportant.

Since they didn’t take Cosmic, Cameron doesn’t actually get to choose Abilities. They just have to take Encourage (using their Suggestion to push people in the right direction) and Mass Effect (using their Intuition to set up coincidental actions that mess up or benefit everyone nearby.)

They then downgrade one power and upgrade another, turning their dice into d10, d8, d6. I’m going to upgrade Intuition, and downgrade Invisibility. Cosmos may not grant a Green Ability, but at least it is also bad about giving you something else in exchange.

Step 3: Archetype

Cosmos, at least, gives a d10, d8, d8 as its Archetype spread. Results of 7, 2, and 4 gives us access to Shadow, Marksman (no), Close Quarters Combatant (noo), Armored, Elemental Manipulator, or Sorcerer. Shadow fits the secretive mastermind that Cameron is turning into, so we’ll go with that.

We have to give Cameron Stealth d10. We’ll also give them Agility d8 and Ranged Combat d8 to round things out. For Abilities, Sabotage using Stealth is just too cool, and we can add a Green damage/redirect to keep that ‘control of the environment’ thing going on. Then, in Yellow, we can add Overcome From Darkness, which is also using Stealth (a rare time when that’s allowed!)

Finally, Shadow unlocks a second Expertise principle. Now that we’re subtle, I’m going to add the Principle of Stealth and really drive home how sneaky they can be.

Step 4: Personality

Cameron’s two d10s for Personality come out to 10 and 7, which unlocks Stalwart, Alluring, and Naïve. Alluring is taken and Naïve does not fit at all, so Cameron is a Stalwart sort.

Step 5: Red Abilities

When things get bad, Cameron gets tricky. Impossible Knowledge lets them turn penalties into bonuses, and Give Time lets them either Boost someone, or hand their turn to another hero and boost them – but at a cost.

Step 6: Retcon

Cameron is going to take a third Red power, one that’s pretty strong for them. Whenever they use an Ability, they also get to take a basic action. That’s going to be great in conjunction with giving people extra turns.

Step 7: Health

Cameron has 28 Health (8 + Red 8 + Agility 8 + 4) . So far, everyone has come into the 28-32 range. I wonder if that’s standard, or if it’s because I’m leaning towards making sure that people have at least something Mental or Athletic. Would a lot of people not do that, or do it less?

Step 8: Alias

Cameron is going to be calling themselves the Synergist. They use their newfound cosmic awareness to push everything into the correct path, uniting a lot of disparate actions into a single flowing whole.

Character Sheet

Synergist

Alias: Cameron Reddican

Background: Criminal, Power Source: Cosmos, Archetype: Shadow, Personality: Stalwart

Principles: Tactician (Expertise), Stealth (Expertise)

• Minor Twists: What one variable did you not account for? What evidence of your presence did you leave behind?
• Major Twists: What major threat is revealed that invalidates all your plans? What just happened that identified you as an obvious threat?

Status Dice: Green d8, Yellow d8, Red d8

Health: 28 (Green 28-22, Yellow 21-11, Red 10-1)

Qualities:

• Imposing (Social) d10
• Stealth (Physical) d10
• Criminal Underworld (Info) d8
• Ranged Combat (Physical) d8

Powers:

• Intuition (Intellectual) d10
• Suggestion (Psychic) d8
• Agility (Athletic) d8
• Invisibility (Self-Control) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Tactician (A): Overcome when you can flash back to how you prepared for exactly this situation. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Stealth (A): Overcome to infiltrate somewhere or avoid detection and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Sabotage (A): Attack using Stealth. Remove one physical bonus or penalty, Hinder using your Min die, or move to a new location in the environment.
• Subtle Redirection ®: When you would be dealt damage, roll d4 in Green, d6 in Yellow, or d8 in red. Reduce the damage that you take by the result of the roll, then Attack another target with that roll.

Yellow Abilities:

• Coaching (A): Attack using Suggestion. Boost all nearby heroes taking Attack or Overcome actions with your Min die.
• Eye of Chaos (A): Boost or Hinder using Intuition, and apply that mod to multiple nearby targets.
• Control the Battlefield (A): Attack or Overcome using Stealth. Boost yourself using your Min die.

Red Abilities:

• The Hand-Off (A): Boost another hero using Intuition. If they have already acted this turn, use your Max die, and they lose Health equal to your Min die. They act next in the turn order.
• All According To Plan (I): At the start of your turn, you may turn any penalty into a bonus.
• The Dominoes Fall (I): When you use an Ability action, you may also perform a basic action with your Mid die on the same roll.

Out Ability: Defend an Ally by rolling your single Intuition die.

Aftermath

Boy, Cosmos is not a very good Power Source. It gives you some versatility at Yellow, but at a heck of an opportunity cost, and the boost one / reduce one is not that great most of the time.

Still, I think that Synergist turned into someone pretty neat, and that dangling Wager Master thread could lead to appropriately chaotic nonsense for the person who wants to control everything.

Just want to poke in and say I’ve really been enjoying this thread, and that latest backstory is sheer brilliance. Excellent Wager Master writing!

Thank you! It is one of my favorite little bits, although there are a few more coming up that I quite liked. And speaking of folks I quite liked:

Step 1: Background

Here we are coming up on our second quintet of heroes. We start with the classic two d10s, and roll a 5 and a 1. So… Upper Class, Unremarkable (nope!) and Law Enforcement. Let’s go ahead with Upper Class, it’s less likely to pop up a billion times in the next four draws.

We’re actually starting to run low on available Qualities already, but I will take Persuasion d10 and Investigation d8. Harrison Kent was never content to sit around and spend the family fortune; he wanted to know how and why things were happening, and spent his time learning how things actually worked with the goal of inheriting the family business.

Upper Class gives us a Responsibility Principle, and I just said that the family business was important, so Principle of Business it is!

Step 2: Power Source

Upper Class gives the beefy d10, d8, d8 for Power Source selection, so let’s roll! 9, 8, and 8 pushes us high, with access to… Powered Suit (nope), Radiation, Cosmos (noope), and Extradimensional. We thought our last friend was weird, let’s get bizarre.

Harrison’s company was working on some extremely cutting-edge stuff. In particular, they were developing a mechanism for instantaneous travel across the globe. Harrison was visiting due to some irregularities in the safety reports, and in the ensuing confrontation the device switched on, sending him cascading across several horrible sub-planes before reconstituting him in the lab.

Needless to say, the scientist responsible for lab safety was fired.

Harrison is definitely picking up Teleportation d10 to represent his experience, as well as Infernal d8 and Postcognition d8. He can feel the residue of experience around him, and channel terrible energies.

For Abilities, his Flicker Strike lets him teleport around striking a lot of people, but that comes with pain. He can also draw the pain from the people he defeats into himself, growing stronger. Finally, his Otherworldly Attunement lets him call on infernal energies to boost himself, at the cost of becoming more infernal.

Step 3: Archetype

Extradimensional gives us a d12 and a d6 to roll. Rolling gives me a 9 and a 1, for Speedster, Elemental Manipulator, and Robot/Cyborg. We’ve got the teleportation for speedster, but I’m going to lean into this Infernal situation and be a Manipulator. This allows me to boost Infernal to d12!

Now I’ve got a d8 and a d6 to play with. I’m going to go with Science d8 and Magical Lore d6, to give a strong informational backing.

Interestingly, all of my Abilities need to use Infernal. This is… well, I made this bed, I’m going to lie in it, but I feel like it may be a bit of a flaw in the system. Anyway, External Combustion lets Harrison hit a couple of people at the cost of hurting himself, and Focused Apparatus is a Hinder/Attack combo that affects multiple people if Harrison drops into the Red. Once he’s in Yellow, Energy Alignment lets Harrison recover whenever he takes Infernal damage, which means he’s probably not going to stay Yellow from health for long.

Elemental Manipulator gives an Esoteric Principle. Thanks to his wild trip, Harrison is getting the Principle of Exorcism; he can sense the manifestation of other realms, and fight back against them.

Step 4: Personality

Rolling two d10s for Personality nets 6 and 6, so my choices are… Distant and Nurturing. Let’s go with Distant. Harrison is a bit of a cold fish, probably thanks to all that trauma.

For a roleplaying quality, Harrison kind of needs something to use with his primary abilities, so I’m going to go with “Extradimensional Conduit”. It lets him fight with his extradimensional powers and sense and manipulate rips in the fabric of reality.

Step 5: Red Abilities

We’ve gone all-in on a couple of powers, here, so let’s double down and take one each for Infernal and Teleportation. When things are bad, Harrison can crack open the realms he travelled through and summon a horde of demonic spirits. Untouchable Movement is a massive boost that also gets him to safety.

Step 6: Retcon

Harrison is going to be bouncing around Zones a lot, so I’m just going to pump up his Red die by a step and call it a day.

Step 7: Health

We’ve got our lowest Health yet for Harrison, with (8 + Red 8 + Investigation 8 + 4) 28 Health. On the other hand, he can heal like nobody’s business, so probably not an issue.

Step 8: Alias

Harrison makes a big deal out of wanting to make sure that illicit science doesn’t hurt anyone the way that he was hurt, so he’s going to call himself The Regulator. He’s pretty open about his identity, and balances his time superheroing and working on his business.

Character Sheet

The Regulator

Alias: Harrison Kent

Background: Upper Class, Power Source: Extradimensional, Archetype: Elemental Manipulator, Personality: Distant

Principles: Business (Responsibility), Exorcism (Esoteric)

• Minor Twists: You’re always looking at the bigger picture. How does this cause friction with the team? What is literally or figuratively coming back to haunt you?
• Major Twists: Your business interests are in danger. Where are your true priorities? What has been allowed to enter this world?

Status Dice: Green d10, Yellow d8, Red d8

Health: 28 (Green 28-22, Yellow 21-11, Red 10-1)

Qualities:

• Persuasion (Social) d10
• Investigation (Mental) d8
• Science (Info) d8
• Extradimensional Conduit (RP) d8
• Magical Lore (Info) d6

Powers:

• Infernal (Element) d12
• Teleportation (Mobility) d10
• Postcognition (Psychic) d8

Green Abilities:

• Principle of Business (A): Overcome in a situation related to the field of your business or knowing locals, and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Exorcism (A): Overcome entities or elements from another dimension and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Otherworldly Attunement (A): Boost yourself with Infernal. That bonus is persistent and exclusive. All damage dealt using that bonus is Infernal.
• Dark Blaze (A): Attack up to two targets with Infernal. Also take damage equal to your Mid die.
• Shatter Reason (A): Hinder with Infernal. Also Attack with your Min die. If you are in the Red Zone, you may apply the penalty to any number of nearby targets.

Yellow Abilities:

• Flicker Strike (A): Attack any number of enemies using Teleportation. Then, take irreducible damage equal to the number of targets hit.
• Absorb Pain ®: When you defeat a minion, roll that Minion’s die and Boost yourself using that roll.
• Infernal Alignment (A): If you would take Infernal damage, reduce that damage to 0 and Recover that amount instead.

Red Abilities:

• The Abyss Beckons (A): Use Infernal to create a number of d6 minions equal to your Mid die. Choose the basic action they perform. They act at the start of your turn.
• Untouchable Movement (A): Boost yourself using Teleport. Use your Max + Min die. Then you may end up anywhere else in the scene, ignoring any dangers between your starting and ending location.

Out Ability: Boost an Ally by rolling your Red Status die.

Aftermath

Harrison is definitely going to be the edgy boy on whatever team he ends up on, but with a strong feeling of responsibility and focus to help temper those impulses. He’s also one heck of a one-trick pony, since I got forced into using Infernal for almost all of his Green and Yellow Abilities, and then dialed it up into the stratosphere, while also giving him a persistent Boost that turns everything he does Infernal regardless.

When he comes up against enemies who are immune to his main shtick, Harrison isn’t totally useless; he’ll probably be good for Overcomes against most enemies like that, and in Yellow he can use his Teleportation to fight, but he’s not much of a team player and will probably need to fall back more on basic actions.

The Regulator also comes with a whole slate of possible supervillains. The scientist who was originally running dangerous experiments in his company, corporate rivals, and extradimensional threats give a wide range of foes that he’s likely to come up against, most of which can be easily integrated into other players’ stories. Overall, I like how this fellow turned out.

Step 1: Background

For Hero #7, we roll a 7 and a 5, giving us Academic, Unremarkable, and Criminal. Two of those three are already taken, so we are creating an Academic. Anyone care to place bets on how far into this process I get before I have to do the “sum of the dice plus 1” trick?

We start with a d12 and a d8 for our dice. I’m going to go for the Ultimate Historian. History d12, and Self-Discipline d8 give us a solid start for our mysterious professor. This is someone who researches the past, in great detail.

Academic gives an Expertise Principle. If I’m going to be an ultra-historian, might as well double down and take the Principle of History. Eleanor (that’s her name now) lives in the past, and thinks it was pretty swell. But like, the really far past. She’s pretty sure that everything wrong in the world can be blamed on the Roman Empire.

Step 2: Power Source

Academic is one of the garbage Backgrounds for power source selection, giving only a d10 and a d8. Rolling them gives us 2 and 7, unlocking Training, Relic (no, unfortunately) and Radiation. I… kind of want Training. Of course, I need at least one new Power, and… hm.

Okay, here we go. In her historical studies, Eleanor learned how to construct an ancient form of mechanical servitor, long lost to the world. She now has Robotics (d10) and Deduction (d8) to represent her mind being finely-honed by these complex devices. The downside to these robots is that it takes genius intellect and years, maybe decades of study to build them; they can’t really be industrialized. But she is determined to prove their effectiveness.

Since we only have two powers, our Yellow Abilities need to use them both. A Robot-based Boost, and a Deduction-based attack that feeds on boosts, seems fun. And Training will give us even more dice in the next step as compensation for not getting as many Abilities right now.

Step 3: Archetype

Training is a strong Archetype! We get to roll d10, d8, d8 for selection, and then will have an extra d8 off the actual list. Results of 2, 7, and 1 give us Speedster, Shadow (no), Physical Powerhouse (no!), Armored, Flyer, and Elemental Manipulator (no!!) So three actual choices. Armored could work, but then I realized that Flyer allows for signature vehicles and I want this person in an ornithopter as often as possible.

So, Signature Vehicle d10. Ranged Combat d8 covers physical needs, and Technology d8 gives her a bit of real tech alongside her historical tech. For her training bonus, I’m going to hand her Magical Lore d8; you don’t learn that much history of the Sentinels universe without picking up a few things.

Abilities are a bit tricky, but let’s go for mass robot Hindering and a reaction to defend Eleanor using her Ornithopter. At Yellow, she adds an Attack that also gives her Defense to be harder to kill, also using her ornithopter.

Flyer gives you an Ideals Principle, and Eleanor is taking the Principle of Justice. There’s a reason that her first thought when gaining the ability to build ancient robots was “save lives!” There is also a reason that her students like her a lot more than the dean of the university does.

Step 4: Personality

For Personality, we roll 9 and 2, giving us Natural Leader, Inquisitive, and Stoic. I’m going to go with Stoic. I don’t think Eleanor is a leader by nature, and Inquisitive is taken.

For her roleplaying personality, Eleanor is going to take Mentor d8. She doesn’t just know things, she likes to teach and guide people. It is important to her, and she’s pretty good at it.

Step 5: Red Abilities

Sticking with our themes, we’re definitely going to go ahead and build on Ornithopter and Robotics. I sort of love the idea of just dropping an ornithopter on someone, so Sacrificial Ram will be our first pick. For Tech… no, they’re all attacks, let’s look at Info. We’re just going to use Specialized Info to make it so that Eleanor is extremely good at using her historical knowledge in the pinch.

Step 6: Retcon

This is an interesting one. I don’t think I want to boost Eleanor’s Red die, because she doesn’t want to be in Red as a rule and will be defending a lot in Yellow. I don’t think I want a third Red for the same reason. Instead, I’m going to give her Remote Viewing d6. It’s a nice power for Overcomes and opening options, and can reflect more robots under her control surveilling and exploring for her.

Step 7: Health

Eleanor is back at (8 + Red 10 + Self-Discipline 8 + 4) 30 Health, right in the middle of our common range.

Step 8: Alias

Eleanor wants an alias that feels a bit old-fashioned, but also reflects her ancient robots and ornithopter. I’m going to call her The Artificer.

Character Sheet

The Artificer

Alias: Eleanor Dulac

Background: Academic, Power Source: Training, Archetype: Flyer, Personality: Stoic

Principles: History (Expertise), Justice (Ideals)

• Minor Twists: How did your old-timeyness cause an issue? How are you taking extra time to show yourself as a shining example of justice?
• Major Twists: What ancient force is now making itself known in the present? How do you unnerve your allies in the single-minded pursuit of justice?

Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d10

Health: 30 (Green 30-23, Yellow 22-12, Red 11-1)

Qualities:

• History (Info) d12
• Self-Discipline (Mental) d8
• Technology (Info) d8
• Magical Lore (Info) d8
• Ranged Combat (Physical) d8
• Mentor (Roleplaying) d8

Powers:

• Ornithopter (Hallmark) d10
• Robotics (Technological) d10
• Deduction (Intellectual) d8
• Remote Viewing (Psychic) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of History (A): Overcome a situation involving archaeology, history, or puzzle-solving and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Justice (A): Overcome to stop an act of injustice in progress and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Tiny Robots (A): Hinder multiple targets using Robotics. Use your Min die for each of them.
• Moving Target ®: When you are attacked while flying, you may Defend yourself by rolling your single Ornithopter die.

Yellow Abilities:

• Battle Robots (A): Boost yourself with Robotics. That boost is persistent and exclusive. Then, attack with your Min die. You may use the Boost you just created on the Attack.
• Coordinated Assault (A): Attack using Deduction. Use your Mid die to Attack one extra target for each bonus you have. Apply a different bonus to each attack.
• Swoop and Strike (A): Attack using Ornithopter. Defend against all attacks against you using your Min die until your next turn.

Red Abilities:

• Sacrificial Drop (A): Attack up to three nearby targets using Ornithopter. Use your Max + Mid dice against each of them. You cannot use Ornithopter for the rest of the scene, and until it is recovered or repaired.
• The Weight of History (A): Overcome using History. Use your Max + Min dice.

Out Ability: Defend an Ally by using your single Robotics die.

Aftermath

I was not very excited about Academic/Training until I ran face-first into the ability to create robots, and from there everything just developed beautifully. The Artificer is kind of amazing, and I love the idea of her. Just a serious, old-fashioned lady and her army of mechanical robots fashioned from the secrets of ancient civilizations, out to stand against injustice in all its forms.

These are great so far.

Thanks! Hope that this stays true with:

Step 1: Background

Here we go again! Two d10s nets results of 9 and 10, which gives us access to Performer, Military, and Otherworldly. Who knows when I’m going to get access to Otherworldly again, so I’m taking it now.

Alertness d10 and Otherworldly Mythos d8 indicates someone who has been fully raised in a supernatural realm. Looking over Esoteric Principles gives me access to all sorts of weirdness. I’m going to take the Principle of the Sea, and say that our lady is a selkie! She lives in an oceanic fae realm, but has often come to Earth to explore. I’m going to make a note that if I can get shape-shifting, take shape-shifting. Her name is Siobhan.

Step 2: Power Source

Otherworldly gives us the slightly rough d10 and two d6s, because why would actual supernatural people have strong super-powers I guess? Anyway, ignoring my sarcasm I got 2, 4, and 6, which unlocks Training (no), Experimentation, Nature, Powered Suit (no), and Tech Upgrades (no). The obvious choice is Nature, but… I suddenly like the idea of a selkie who was captured and experimented on, before managing to escape. Her seal-skin is slightly damaged, but she can still change. Her primary power is Cold d10, empowered by magic-technical experiments, and she retains Shapeshifting d6 and Swimming d6.

For Powers, she’s going to grab a high-power Frost boost at Yellow, and also the ability to use her shape-shifting to distract and redirect damage (which ironically is more powerful with a weak power, so works really well here.) Even in Green, she just shakes off trouble, removing a penalty at the start of each turn.

Step 3: Archetype

We’re at three d8s for Archetype, which is hard combined with Otherworldly but could be worse. Results of 2, 5, and 6 access Shadow (no), Blaster, Close Quarters Combatant (noo), Armored, Flyer (nooo) and Sorcerer. With three actual choices, I’m actually going to take Armored. Siobhan’s cold-enhanced powers and shape-shifting combine to make her nigh-immortal and indestructible, far more so than her kin.

For dice, Siobhan is going to take Vitality d8, Close Combat d8, and Insight d8, which just meets my “one thing needs to be new” rule. She’s tough, she fights up close with claws and ice, and she’s got a supernaturally good eye for people’s hearts.

Siobhan gets Armored for free, plus three Green Abilities and no Yellow ones. She’s going to use Cold to power an Attack that defends allies, and an attack that hits multiple people. She also uses Shapeshifting for an Attack that heals herself; it’s not her best pool, but it’s neat.

Armored also gives an Expertise principle. Siobhan will pick the Principle of the Mentor. She is quite a bit older than most other heroes, and has lived her life helping and guiding, so there’s no reason to stop just because some people messed with her.

Step 4: Personality

For our two d10s, we get 6 and 7, opening up Distant (no), Stalwart (no), and Nurturing. So we have to take Nurturing, which fits very well thematically but actually sucks for Siobhan because of my self-inflicted rules. Her entire build is based around damage resistance and healing, slowing down how often she changes Zones, and now she’s bad at things until she reaches Red. Once she’s there, though, she will be unstoppable, so that’s something.

For her roleplaying die, she’s going to take Selkie d8, which just covers her supernatural nature, is probably what she uses for shape-shifting, and handles her knowledge of the coast and the sea.

Step 5: Red Abilities

Speaking of being unstoppable, let’s see what Red Abilities Siobhan has access to. A nice, straightforward Powerful Strike lets her use her Cold to blast harder, but our big winner is going to be Resurrection. Once per session, Siobhan just gets back up again.

Step 6: Retcon

Since Siobhan is great in the Red, let’s let her turn into a monstrous chimera that can do too many things at once. This uses her Shapeshifting die, unfortunately, but it also uses her Red so I think she’ll be fine.

Step 7: Health

Siobhan is officially our toughest hero yet, clocking in at (8 + Red 12 + Alertness 10 + 4) 34 Health!

Step 8: Alias

Siobhan has lost a lot, but not her sense of humour. She goes by the alias “Deep Freeze.”

Character Sheet

Deep Freeze

Alias: Siobhan (no last name)

Background: Otherworldly, Power Source: Experimentation, Archetype: Armoured, Personality: Nurturing

Principles: The Sea [Esoteric], Mentor [Expertise]

• Roleplaying: You can speak to aquatic creatures and breathe underwater. It is important to guide less-weathered heroes. Everyone grants you some measure of respect for your wisdom.
• Minor Twists: What challenge does the surface world pose? Which whippersnapper just showed you up?
• Major Twists: What disaster is incoming as the sea calls? What has just proven that you’re too behind the times?

Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d6, Red d12

Health: 34 (Green 34-26, Yellow 25-13, Red 12-1)

Qualities:

• Alertness (Mental) d10
• Otherworldly Mythos (Info) d8
• Close Combat (Physical) d8
• Insight (Social) d8
• Selkie (RP) d8

Powers:

• Cold (Energy) d10
• Vitality (Athletic) d8
• Shapeshifting (Self-Control) d6
• Swimming (Mobility) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Sea (A): Overcome a situation while underwater and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of the Mentor (A): Overcome a challenge that someone else younger already tried and failed. Use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Frost Wall (A): Attack with Cold. Defend another target with your Min die.
• Chill Blast (A): Attack with Cold. Attack another target with your Min die.
• Shifting Strike (A): Attack with Shapeshifting. Recover using your Min die.
• Swim Free (I): At the start of your turn, remove a penalty on yourself.
• Armored (I): Reduce physical and energy damage by 1 in Green, 2 in Yellow, or 3 in Red.

Yellow Abilities:

• Cold Snap (A): Boost yourself using Cold. Use your Max die. That bonus is persistent and exclusive.
• Twisting Form ®: When a nearby hero in the Yellow or Red zone would take damage, Defend against that damage by rolling your single Shapeshifting die, then redirect any remaining damage to a nearby minion of your choice.

Red Abilities:

• Icy Blast (A): Attack with Cold. Use your Max + Mid dice.
• Chimeric Eruption (A): Choose three basic actions. Use Shapeshifting in your Pool and take one action with your Max die, one with your Mid die, and one with your Min die.
• Shed Skin (I): Once per issue, if you would reach 0 Health, roll Alertness + Shapeshifting + Red Die. Your Health becomes that number.

Out Ability: Boost an Ally by rolling your Alertness die.

Aftermath

Boy, oh boy, Deep Freeze is pretty much unstoppable.

I mean, she’s got 34 Health for a start. She removes penalties on herself every turn so it’s hard to stop her with Hinders. She has damage reduction. One of her Green Abilities lets her recover health, and if she somehow hits 0 she’ll heal an average of 15. She’s relying a lot on a d6, more than I would have liked, but she’s got a very potent Boost in Yellow to help with that. Mechanically, she is a beast.

I also like the roleplaying idea of being a sort-of fae who was hurt by humanity, but refuses to become hateful from the experience. She’s looking for the good in the world, and she will shut you down if you stand against that.

So what I’m hearing is that Covenant and Deep Freeze are on the same team as BFFs, shrugging at each other as their teammates Archie and the Artificer have a Will They/Won’t They struggle for the Leader slot.
Edit: Forgot to mention their team books tag line would involve “History’s Mysteries!”

That is definitely a possibility! I hadn’t settled on any teams for certain at this point, but I will say two things - I was strongly leaning towards Archie and the Artificer teaming up, and I was pretty sure that the final teams would include one with both the Regulator and Deep Freeze on it - he investigates science being misused to experiment on other realms, and she’s the result of misused science experimenting on someone from other realms.

But in other news…

Step 1: Background

Let’s hop to it! We start off by rolling two d10s, as per usual, netting a 6 and a 2. Back to the low numbers… this gets us Blank Slate (no), Law Enforcement, and Tragic.

Let’s go ahead and take Law Enforcement. We’re really running out of low-numbered Backgrounds. Leslie always wanted to be a police officer, but has found themselves stymied by corruption in the ranks and the Thin Blue Line. They’re a patrol cop, who bucks the system but still believes that it can be repaired.

Leslie is our first person who can’t take an unused Quality. Instead, they start with Investigation d10 and Close Combat d8.

Leslie also gets a Responsibility Principle, and they’re going to take the Principle of the Mask. It’s kind of critical that their vigilante activities not get back to the corrupt cops at the precinct.

Step 2: Power Source

Law Enforcement grants d10, d8, d6 for Power Source, and rolling that results in… 1, 1, and 1.

Huh.

So our Power Source choices are Accident or Training, and we’ve already taken Training. Accident it is!

Leslie was on patrol when they stumbled across an arms deal involving alien biotech. They tried to surveil it, but their partner charged in and when they went after him, everything went bad and Leslie got infected by alien spores that, in a burst of luck, only almost killed them. When they recovered, they discovered that the spores have altered their DNA; they can control plants, stretch and twist their limbs like vines, and give off spores that control animals. It’s kind of creepy, but they’re doing their best.

For Yellow Abilities, Leslie can use their plants to provide huge bonuses or penalties to groups, or use their Elasticity to fight directly. Their Greens are… not great, but they can Boost whenever they change personal Zones, so that’s fun. Maybe I can get a healing Ability in there and ping-pong around.

Step 3: Archetype

Accident is another d12 / d6 combo (which means I’ve hit all three of them in my first nine characters, weird) and rolling that gets me… 2 and 6. Seriously? That nets me Shadow, Close Quarters Combatant, and Flyer, all of which are gone, which means that we’re cascading straight down to Robot/Cyborg. The spores that infected Leslie are biotech, and have altered them inherently.

As a cyborg, Leslie gets a d12 to Size-Shifting and a d6 Criminal Underworld Info, as well as an extra d10 Technological Power. None of them quite work, so I’m just going to say that she has access to all sorts of police Gadgets.

Size-Changing gives Leslie a Green Boost that is persistent, which will be a nice way to start things off, and will stack well with their ability to attack multiple people with Plant Control based on how many Boosts they have. Once they hit Yellow, they get the ability to make single, powerful Size-Changing attacks that get stronger if they have more bonuses available. So create bonuses, don’t always use them, and unload with the big guns.

This Archetype also gives an Expertise choice, and I’m taking Whispers. The spores talk to Leslie, trying to offer advice and alien knowledge. And as anyone who has ever seen a TV show or comic about alien battlegear grafted to humans knows, this is probably fine.

Step 4: Personality

Rolling two d10s for Personality, Leslie’s choices are 9 and 9, because apparently they are getting all the bad luck. This opens Inquisitive and Apathetic, which are both taken, so Leslie is Jaded. They used to be very hopeful and upbeat, but seeing police life up close has made them a lot more cynical.

We’re also going to take the Beat Cop roleplaying distinction, which covers the day-to-day knowledge that Leslie is badly lacking. This is actually pretty good for Leslie, because it means she has a ludicrous die pool for that first Boost, which will carry through a lot of other tricks.

Step 5: Red Abilities

Goal #1 for Red – a way to heal out of Red. Major Regeneration more than qualifies. Leslie Hinders themselves with Size-Changing, then heals a huge amount at once. Goal #2 – something to do with plants in case the situation is bad enough that we don’t want to waste time. A Field of Hazards shuts down the opposition, with the possibility of dealing damage to a large group too.

Step 6: Retcon

I dislike d6 Red dice, and this seems like a good time to boost one up to a d8, since we are very set for Red Abilities and I don’t think we need new powers.

Step 7: Health

Back in the middle, with (8 + Red 8 + Investigation 10 + 4) for 30 Health.

Step 8: Alias

We explicitly do not want an alias that evokes law enforcement concepts, so I’m going to go ahead and call them Fernwick. Leslie took the name to represent their plant powers, plus ‘wick’ for green and ready to grow, but everyone thinks it’s a fire thing and they keep having to explain. But they’re stubborn, so they’re not changing it.

Character Sheet

Fernwick

Alias: Leslie Flaherty

Background: Law Enforcement, Power Source: Accident, Archetype: Robot/Cyborg, Personality: Jaded

Principles: Mask (Responsibility), Whispers (Expertise)

• Roleplaying: You have a career that allows you to slip between identities when necessary. You hear a voice in your head that no one else hears. That voice tells you things, which might be true or false, but the voice certainly seems to know a lot.
• Minor Twists: What clue about your real life did you leave behind? How did the voice distract you?
• Major Twists: Who from your civilian life is now in imminent danger? What is the voice demanding of you?

Status Dice: Green d10, Yellow d8, Red d8

Health: 30 (Green 30-23, Yellow 22-12, Red 11-1)

Qualities:

• Investigation (Mental) d10
• Close Combat (Physical) d8
• Beat Cop (RP) d8
• Criminal Underworld Info d6

Powers:

• Size-Changing (Self-Control) d12
• Plants (Material) d10
• Gadgets (Technological) d10
• Elasticity (Self-Control) d8
• Animal Control (Psychic) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Mask (A): Overcome using knowledge from your civilian life and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Whispers (A): Overcome against a challenge that involves information that you have no real way of knowing and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Personal Growth (A): Boost yourself with Size-Changing. Use your Max die. This bonus is persistent and exclusive.
• Whiplash (A): Attack using Plants. Attack an extra target with your Mid die for each bonus you have. Use a different bonus on each attack.
• Green Thumb ®: When you change personal zones, you may boost by rolling your Plants die.

Yellow Abilities:

• Harsh Terrain (A): Boost or Hinder any number of nearby targets using Plants. Use your Max die.
• Grapple (A): Attack using Elasticity. Hinder that target with your Min die.
• Colossal Smash (A): Attack using Size-Changing. Add a bonus equal to the number of bonuses you currently have.

Red Abilities:

• Back to Basics (A): Hinder yourself with Size-Changing. Use your Min die. Recover using your Max and Mid dice.
• Spore Field (A): Hinder any number of targets with Plants. Use your Max + Min dice. If you roll doubles, also Attack each target using your Mid die.

Out Ability: Remove a bonus or penalty of your choice.

Aftermath: Well, we certainly ran full-tilt into my personal restrictions this time. Two cascades much earlier than I’d expected. I think I am going to add a small revision to the previous rules, so that I can keep having two options up to the end. This rule is as follows:

If I have only one option, I can take it, or I can take the next available option after whichever one is the sum of the two dice. If I have zero options, I can take the first available option either before or after the sum of the two dice. This lets me always have two choices, without opening things up too far.

But the prior system pretty much worked out here. Sort of a plant-themed Blue Beetle, with a few particularly weird abilities tied into it all. Mechanically, they are a beast. Build up bonuses in Green, then shift to Yellow and use those bonuses for massive hits or area hits, and then when you drop to Red get more bonuses before defending your way back to Yellow for more massive hits.

Leslie doesn’t have a lot of Quality versatility; most of their high dice are over in Powers. But they can get by, and they have what they need to be good at their core competencies.

Heh, let’s hope Fernwick and Cameron don’t end up on the same team.

I was seeing Archie, Regulator, and Artificer together.
Covenant and Deep freeze to make it 5 works.

Is it too obvious saying that Fernwick and Zam might be on the same team?

human infected by alien and alien cursed by cosmic works I think
The decisive hero dragging the jaded hero into action works well.

Add in the stalwart Synergist for the personality dynamics of forward momentum, stability, and indifference combined with ex-criminal and cop interactions

One of the more interesting things about this thread and your build dynamics is how you start writing the character’s story immediately. I usually don’t get that far until at least power source if not archetype.

Or is this a result of writing them up after the fact?

Nope, I started right away. When I started this project, I ran into choice paralysis almost instantly when trying to decide what qualities to take, so I started trying to create character outlines right off the bat based on the qualities that I picked.

I’m not married to whatever idea I come up with in the first step; there are a few characters coming up where I made either slight or substantial revisions to a person’s story based on what I rolled up for their Power Source. But in general I found it gave me a bit of guidance for the “pick a Power Source” step that would have overwhelmed me otherwise.

Step 1: Background

Our two dice for Background this time around give me 2 and 7. That means Blank Slate, Academic, and Performer. Two of those are taken, which means my choices are Performer or Military, but I’ll stick with Performer. I am required to take Finesse, since I’m almost out of Qualities, so what kind of performer…

Mike Wu is a professional stage magician! He uses his Finesse (d10) for his tricks, and his Banter (d8) to hold the rapt attention of his audience. He has a decent following and a few tricks of his own. For his Principle, the Principle of the Detective is why he got into stage magic; he loves seeing how things fit together.

Step 2: Power Source

Performer gives d10, d8, and d6 for Power Source, and my roll gives me 5, 5, and 1. That’s Accident, Mystical, Nature, and Tech Upgrades. Is it weird that I don’t want the magician to be Mystical? That feels too stereotypical. Instead, I’m going to do something ridiculous and give him Nature.

Mike was looking for a new white rabbit for his act, and found a sickly and exhausted rabbit in a mysterious pet shop. He took her home, and nursed her back to health, at which point she revealed that she was a magical rabbit on a quest to find a champion for the world; she gifted him with powers because of his good heart. This power has given Mike the ability to command the weather, speak with animals, and withstand terrible blows. It’s weird, and he’s not sure what to do with it, but apparently he’s a defender of the Earth now? Plus, being able to talk to the rabbits and doves really helps with his act, as does his ability to make thunderclaps happen for dramatic effect and stir a breeze to ruffle his cape.

For Abilities, Call to the Wild is a pretty reasonable way of grabbing animal minions, and Predator’s Eye creates weather that attacks enemies, but also empowers them. In Green, he uses his weather control to Hinder large groups.

Step 3: Archetype

We have a d10 and two d8s for selecting Archetypes, and rolling them gives me access to 7, 7, and 2. This means Shadow, Armored, Elemental Manipulator, and Minion-Maker, which means that I’ve actually got Minion-Maker and… Wild Card. Yes, let’s do that. Wild Card it is.

Awareness d10 gives our magician a good view of the world, and Acrobatics and Insight give him a solid range of Qualities. For Green Abilities, Unknown Results is very funny but also very bad, so I’m going to take Gimmick and Multitask. At Green, Mike uses his Awareness of the situation to Boost or Hinder, and maybe exploit an opportunity, and can use his Finesse to do a couple of things at once.

Yellow is much harder. I definitely want a Reaction. Break the 4th seems like the most powerful thing ever, but I love the idea of waiting to apply bonuses until after you roll and see how you did… no, I need to give him Break the 4th, it’s just too much better than the other Yellow options.

Wild Card also hands us our second-ever Ideals Principle. (For those keeping track, we’re at seven Expertise, five Responsibility, four Esoteric, two Identity, and now two Ideals.) I’m going to give Mike the Principle of Liberty. He believes in freedom and choice, and hates to be restrained.

Step 4: Personality

Two d10s gives me double 6s, which opens up Distant and Nurturing. Since those are both gone, we get Fast-Talking and Analytical instead. Those both work, but I’m going to take Analytical. Mike can do the fast-talking thing, but his impulse is to figure out what’s going on and take advantage of the situation. This makes him best in Green.

For our roleplaying quality, I’m giving Mike Coco the Rabbit. Coco is a sentient rabbit who may or may not be a nature spirit, and is Mike’s animal companion.

Step 5: Red Abilities

In Red, Mike is starting to get worse at doing things, so I want a pair of Abilities to offset that. Summon Allies lets him create a whole host of animal friends, through psychic powers this time, and a Finishing Blow lets him turn the penalties he creates into a single, powerful hit (which with a horde of Hindering doves can be really strong.)

Step 6: Retcon

I don’t really need a new Power or Quality, and I am keenly aware that I keep just boosting everyone with a d6 Red die to d8, so I’m going to deliberately duck the trend and give Mike a new Red Ability instead. Impossible Knowledge lets him just turn penalties into bonuses, which will do well.

Step 7: Health

Oh, hey. (8 + Vitality 6 + Red 6 + 4) gives us a mere 24 Health, by far the lowest we’ve seen to date. We now officially have an example of the weird semi-failure state – with Physical Qualities at d10 and Intellectual Powers at d10, Mike’s stuck with a d6, and since he’s not great in Red he ends up in Red faster, which is sort of an interesting effect.

Step 8: Alias

I really want to call this guy Magic Mike, but I’m not going to. Instead, he is Ilamar the Inscrutable, Master of Mystery! Ilamar doesn’t actually mean anything, he just liked the sound.

Character Sheet

Ilamar the Inscrutable

Alias: Mike Wu

Background: Performer, Power Source: Nature, Archetype: Wild Card, Personality: Analytical

Principles: The Detective, Liberty

• Roleplaying: You can always tell when an important piece of information is being left out or
• obscured, though you might not know exactly what it is. You believe strongly in liberty and side with the oppressed. You can never truly be mentally restrained.
• Minor Twists: What important clue did you miss? How do you become temporarily trapped?
• Major Twists: What major information was revealed that you wish had stayed hidden? How have you become a prisoner yourself?

Status Dice: Green d10, Yellow d8, Red d6

Health: 24 (Green 24-19, Yellow 18-10, Red 9-1)

Qualities:

• Finesse (Physical) d10
• Acrobatics (Physical) d8
• Banter (Social) d8
• Insight (Social) d8
• Coco The Rabbit (RP) d8

Powers:

• Weather (Element) d10
• Awareness (Intellectual) d10
• Animal Control (Psychic) d8
• Vitality (Athletic) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Detective (A): Overcome to learn hidden information and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Liberty (A): Overcome in a situation in which you are restricted or bound and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Blasting Winds (A): Hinder using Weather. Use your Max die. You may split that penalty across multiple nearby targets.
• Quicker than the Eye (A): Take two basic actions using Finesse. Use your Min die for each.
• Set The Stage (A): Boost or Hinder using Awareness. Use your Max die. If you roll doubles, you may also Attack with your Mid die.

Yellow Abilities:

• Hat Trick (A): Gain a d8 animal minion. It acts on your turn, and goes away at the end of the scene. You may only have one such minion at a time.
• The Storm’s Eye (A): Attack an enemy with Weather. Use your Max + Min die. Then gain a Boost using your Mid die. The target of the Attack gains a Boost of the same size.
• Callbacks ®: Uncheck one of your Collections.

Red Abilities:

• Summon Nature’s Allies (A): Use Animal Control to create a number of d6 minions equal to your Mid die. Choose the basic action they perform. They act at the start of your turn.
• Nothing Up My Sleeve (A): Attack using Finesse. Use your Max die. Remove any number of penalties from the target, and add your Min die once for each penalty removed.
• The Old Switcheroo (I): At the start of your turn, change any penalty into a bonus.

Out Ability: Remove a bonus or penalty of your choice.

Aftermath: Boy, I changed the rules just in time. Ilamar the Inscrutable had to use my new rule set twice. The next ten heroes I make are going to be real restrictive.

With that said, this quick-talking magician who has actual powers that are not in any direct way related to stage magic is pretty great, and I could see him becoming a fun part of the team. There’s also some dangling story threads about his literal magic rabbit – where is she from, what is she after, how is this going to go down, can anyone but him hear her, or do they all just think he’s talking to a rabbit (or even better, anyone could hear her, but she’s shy and doesn’t like to talk…)

Now that we’re ten heroes down, I thought that I would also quickly take stock of how they handled the options:

For Backgrounds, I only have three of the first ten unlocked, so we’re likely to see a lot more of “pick from two high-end choices” popping up going forward. This is also true to exactly the same degree for Power Source; I didn’t get a lot of high numbers rolling previously. This is even worse for Archetypes; only two of the first ten are around, and one of them is Speedster, which requires a 1 to be rolled. Oddly, Personalities aren’t nearly as tilted, with seven of the first ten still available.

My requirement to include every Quality is just about over; Medicine is the only one left, so someone’s going to get that soon (probably Medical, if they’re drawn before I get “any Info”). I have 18 Powers that I haven’t included, and thus would like to have in my last ten characters, but they’re quite spread out; half of them are Energy or Materials, with the other half spread out across five categories and every Athletic power picked (Hallmark too, but there are only two Hallmark powers so that’s different.) Materials in particular seems uncommon; I hadn’t noticed that there were only five Power Sources and four Archetypes that use them, and didn’t take them a couple times early on, so I’ll have to focus in on that when possible.

For Principles, I still have nine Esoteric options, seven Expertise, eleven Ideals, ten Identity, and seven Responsibility to choose from. I hadn’t run through all twenty of my remaining options to see how many I’d have left when I was picking. (Spoiler alert: Expertise is… a thing.)

And finally, I still have 43 Red Abilities to pick from, and will be picking 20-30. I’m going to have to keep an eye on some of the categories to try and pull from them to keep my options open overall, but I haven’t accidentally picked an entire category clean yet.

Huh, I just realised that, because of your rules, it is more likely that your Heroes will be built with mostly common parts or mostly rare parts, but not both, because you’ll roll all the common results first, then add and get the rarer ones later on.

Hmm, there could be some connection betwixt Covenant’s Mantle and Coco the Rabbit . . . Also, Deep Freeze is animalistic and Ilamar* can talk to animals, so, teammates, maybe.

*In “Step 8” you call him Illamar (with two L’s), but in his character sheet he’s Ilamar (with only one L).

Whoops! One ‘l’ is the correct spelling, inasmuch as it’s the one I used everywhere else.

My little hint about team formation is as follows, because I like to drive speculation: Of the five teams, one has not had a single member appear yet! The other four teams have each had at least two members appear, and no team has had every member appear.

Step 1: Background

As we round the second half, our 2d10 gives us the choices of Adventurer, Performer, and Medical. That technically also gives me access to Anachronistic, but I do need to give someone Medicine so let’s do it!

We get extra Qualities for our Medical professional, so let’s make them a first responder in disaster situations. We’ll give them Medical d10, Conviction d8, and Finesse d6 to cover their general skills. Medical also gives… another Expertise Principle, huh? Huh. Well, let’s take the Principle of Speed. Juanita works in a field where time is of the essence, and that leaks into his civilian life as well.

Step 2: Power Source

Medical inexplicably gives d10, d8, d8 for Power Source in addition to having the extra Quality, so let’s roll it. 6, 5, and 8 gives us Mystical, Nature, Power Suit, Supernatural, Cursed, and Alien.

An alien doctor, you say? Played by Alan Tudyk, perhaps?

Just kidding, but I do want an alien. Sorry, Juanita, you are being renamed. J’nyta is a Maerynian disaster responder now! She has seen devastation firsthand, and wants to bring peace to the world that sheltered her people when they were nearly wiped out by Grand Warlord Voss.

J’nyta is a natural weather-worker, as are many Maerynians, so Weather d10. She’s also a bit of a genius with a lot of medical Inventions (d8) that she makes significant use of, and she has tremendous personal Presence (d8) to direct people in emergencies.

For Abilities, she can use her Inventions to give people boosts, but doing so distracts and Hinders her. She can also use her Weather for a wide array of effects, which also heal people who are running low on energy. Finally, her Finesse upgrades to d8.

Step 3: Archetype

Alien only gives three d8s for Archetype, but J’nyta has enough dice that I’m not too worried about that. Rolling, we come up with 3, 4, and 8 – finally getting those higher numbers! This gives us access to Physical Powerhouse, Marksman, Armored, Flyer, Sorcerer, and Psychic. Which means Sorcerer and Transporter. We’ve got a high-speed dispatch healer, so let’s go with Transporter.

One or two of our dice needs to go to a new Power, and I’m going to go with Precognition and Flight. J’nyta can harness the winds to fly through the air as needed, and she is a rare Maerynian psychic who gets flashes of where the best place to be is when there’s trouble. Her precognitive intuition is almost subconscious; she doesn’t get proper visions so much as a strong feeling that she’s needed. Finally, we will give her Fitness; she’s good at keeping going for a while without burning out.

Transporters don’t have a lot of Ability choices. At Green, we’ll let her attack targets and then either hinder or move them, using her Weather, and a Reaction to force attackers to reroll their pools. At Yellow, she gets the ability to attack with Flight, and then Defend herself for the turn.

And… Expertise Principle? Are you kidding me? We might actually run out of these. I’m going to give her the Principle of Clockwork, so that she understands how all the pieces fit together.

Step 4: Personality

Two d10s gives me 6 and 10 – J’nyta really likes rolling high! That unlocks Distant, Alluring, and Cheerful, which means Cheerful and Naïve. I’m going to take Cheerful. Naïve doesn’t seem right for someone who has seen this much tragedy, but I like the idea that she believes in keeping a pleasant face up.

For roleplaying, I’m just going to give her the Maerynian Quality, to cover her alien background.

Step 5: Red Abilities

I’m running low on Elemental choices, so I’m going to attach my Red Abilities to Medicine and Inventions. In emergencies, J’nyta’s Medicine is very Reliable, and… oh, right, all of the Tech powers are attacks. Instead, let’s use Flight to protect groups of people from danger.

Step 6: Retcon

Screw it, Red to d8.

Step 7: Health

Back into the general range, with (8 + Conviction 8 + Red 8 + 4) 28 Health.

Step 8: Alias

Well, she’s primary a rescue worker, even when she’s fighting evil, and a lot of her background is about being safe, and wanting others to feel the same, so let’s go with Refuge.

Character Sheet

Refuge

Alias: J’nyta Gnz’l

Background: Medical, Power Source: Alien, Archetype: Transporter, Personality: Cheerful

Principles: Speed [Expertise], Clockwork [Expertise].

• Roleplaying: You’re fast, and you don’t like to waste time. You are good at understanding how pieces fit together and spotting flaws in orderly systems.
• Minor Twists: What physical drawback did you suffer from going too fast?
• Major Twists: What crucial detail did you speed by earlier that’s coming back to haunt you?

Status Dice: Green d10, Yellow d8, Red d8

Health: 28 (Green 28-22, Yellow 21-11, Red 10-1)

Qualities:

• Medical (Info) d10
• Conviction (Mental) d8
• Finesse (Physical) d8
• Fitness (Physical) d8
• Maerynian (RP) d8

Powers:

• Weather (Element) d10
• Inventions (Tech) d8
• Presence (Intellectual) d8
• Precognition (Psychic) d8
• Flight (Mobility) d8

Green Abilities:

• Principle of Speed (A): When you successfully Overcome, you may end up anywhere in the current environment. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Clockwork (A): Overcome a complex problem with a simple tool and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Gust of Wind (A): Attack an opponent using Weather. Either Hinder them with your Min die, or move them somewhere else in the scene.
• Evasive ®: When you are hit with an Attack, you may take 1 irreducible damage to force your opponent to reroll their entire die pool.

Yellow Abilities:

• Weather-Worker (A): Boost, Hinder, Attack, or Defend with Weather. You and all nearby heroes in the Yellow or Red Zone recover with your Min die.
• Fine-Tuning (A): Boost all nearby allies using Inventions. Hinder yourself with your Min die.
• Fly-By (A): Attack with Flight. Defend against all attacks with your Min die until the start of your turn.

Red Abilities:

• Take the Hits ®: When multiple nearby heroes are Attacked, you may take all of the damage instead. If you do, roll your Flight die + Red Zone die, and Defend against the Attack with the total.
• Reliable Medic (I): When you take any action with Medicine, you may reroll your Min die before determining effects.

Out Ability: Boost an Ally by rolling your single Weather die.

Aftermath: I like her!

It’s interesting that I didn’t end up having anything to do with the Precognition and Presence dice that I gave her, but they’re still valuable for general Overcomes and social interactions. J’nyta has a pretty wide range of abilities, leaning towards Boosts and Hinders but able to fight if she needs to. She’s probably going to have a lot of stories dealing with trying to help people in danger while her teammates focus on the big bad, but also about believing in the best in people and being alternately rewarded and disappointed.

Probably also some issues with people not trusting her, as an alien living shortly after a giant cosmic attack, but hopefully that won’t go too dark.

Alright, here are my team predictions:

Team Magic: Covenant, The Regulator, Deep Freeze, Ilamar the Inscrutable

Team Space: Montage, Synergist, Fernwick, Refuge

Team Technology: Archie The Adventurer, Atomizer, The Artificer

Definitely some strong predictions! But here’s a newcomer to mess with it…

Step 1: Background

Starting at the very beginning gives us opening results of 6 and 10. This makes the Backgrounds of Law Enforcement, Military, and Former Villain available to us. Let’s build an ex-supervillain. They’re always fun folks. I have no idea what name to give this person, but I’ll call him Bob for now.

This one is very tricky, because I would want Bob’s qualities to be tied to his powers, and I don’t know what those are yet. Quality choices lean much more towards “former mastermind” than “former minion”, so let’s give Bob Technology d10 and Imposing d8. Your classic ranting mad scientist.

Former Villains have an… Expertise… Principle…

Seriously?? If anyone should be Ideals-driven, it would be the person who was a villain until something woke them to heroism. Fine. Whatever. I don’t even mind. Principle of the Gearhead, there.

Step 2: Power Source

Former Villains get the d10, d8, d8 spread, so we roll up 9, 7, and 2. So our choices are Training, Relic, Radiation, Supernatural, and Cosmos. Of those two, I actually like the idea of a supernatural technician, someone who tried to build devices that were powered by magic. This is not a good plan in the Sentinels universe, but Bob didn’t care!

This gives us access to Transmutation d10, Electricity d8, and Vitality d8. Our good doctor can channel the lightning of the heavens to transform the nature of objects, and has turbo-charged his own body. A real self-Frankenstein of a guy.

For Abilities, our good (bad) doctor uses Transmutation to Boost or Hinder people, and Electricity to Boost allies and heal people. Then, once we’re done with those, we get a free Presence d10.

Step 3: Archetype

We’re given d10, d10, d6 for Archetype, and 5, 1, 1 gives us access to Speedster, Shadow, Blaster, and Close Quarters Combatant. We’ve got a lot of electricity, let’s be a Blaster!

This lets us boost our Electricity to d10, and then gives us Ranged Combat d10, Fire d8 (it was that or Momentum), and Inventions d6. Our Blaster has a couple of elements to blast with.

For Abilities, we’ll lean into the elements, since we can’t lean into transmutation. Electricity fires off precise hits, and Fire just rolls over everyone. In Yellow, he becomes immune to electricity, and can use his Inventions to do a lot of damage and Boost.

We get an Esoteric Principle this time around, and I’m going to go with the Principle of the Inner Demon. When Bob channels his inner supervillain, he’s always at risk of slipping back into bad habits. This isn’t quite as literal as the Principle suggests, but it still works well.

Step 4: Personality

Rolling for personality gives us 9 and 9, which lets us choose between Inquisitive and Apathetic, both of which are gone. That leaves us with Naïve or Arrogant, and I’m going to pick Arrogant. For all that he’s turned over a new leaf, there’s a lot of the old villain in Bob.

Step 5: Red Abilities

When in serious danger, sometimes you just need an Impenetrable Defense, powered by your alchemical transformations. And sometimes you just want to unload with a Final Attack, using your best Inventions.

Step 6: Retcon

So, we got a free d10, and there is something that’s really bugging me about this character. Even though it is definitely not the right move, I’m going to swap his Presence and his Inventions to let him use his cool tech for more things.

(The right move is Red to d8, but this means two heroes actually will drop to d6 in the Red Zone.)

Step 7: Health

We’re looking at (8 + Red Die 6 + Athletics 8 + 4) 26 Health this time around. I think all those big Red Dice may have tilted my thoughts about what the standard ranges look like…

Step 8: Alias

We have some extra work to do here. I’m officially naming our friend Bertram Gilles, an engineer who became obsessed with alchemy and its ability to create perfected things. After losing his job because of his ‘mad obsessions’, he undertook criminal activity to develop his alchemical devices, under the name Doctor Phlogiston.

During Oblivaeon, Doctor Phlogiston was released from prison to fight a horde of Aeon Men, saving the lives of many of his fellow prisoners and guards. In the aftermath, he was paroled and put on a work-release program as long as he followed various strict rules and also took action as a superhero, which he does under the alias of Doctor Cobalt. A lot of people don’t know that Phlogiston and Cobalt are the same person, but enough do.

Character Sheet

Doctor Cobalt

Alias: Bertram Gilles

Background: Former Villain, Power Source: Supernatural, Archetype: Blaster, Personality: Arrogant

Principles: Gearhead [Expertise], Inner Demon [Esoteric]

• Roleplaying: You always know the general state of repair or function of an item of technology, whether it’s a simple toaster or an alien orbital defense system. You have a darkness in you that you strive to keep suppressed. You can reach out to similar forces.
• Minor Twists: What mechanical device just shorted out? What sinister act comes from tapping into your dark side?
• Major Twists: What machine just went terribly off the rails? What havoc does your dark side inflict as you allow it to take control?

Status Dice: Green d10, Yellow d8, Red d6

Health: 26 (Green 26-21, Yellow 20-10, Red 9-1)

Qualities:

• Technology (Info) d10
• Ranged Combat (Physical) d10
• Imposing (Social) d8
• Paroled Supervillain (RP) d8

Powers:

• Transmutation (Materials) d10
• Inventions (Tech) d10
• Presence (Intellectual) d6
• Electricity (Element) d10
• Fire (Element) d8
• Vitality (Athletics) d8

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Gearhead(A): Overcome a technological challenge and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Inner Darkness (A): Tap into your dark psyche and Overcome using your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Firestorm (A): Attack multiple targets with Fire. Use your Min die against each.
• Lightning Bolt (A): Attack using Lightning. Ignore all penalties on this attack, ignore any Defend actions, and it cannot be affected by Reactions.

Yellow Abilities:

• Incredible Machines (A): Attack with Transmutation. Use your Max die. If you choose a hero to go next, also boost them with your Mid die.
• Galvanize (A): Boost an Ally using Lightning. You and nearby heroes in the Yellow or Red zones Recover health equal to your Min die.
• Mass Transmutation (A): Boost or Hinder multiple close targets with Inventions.
• Galvanic Reactor (I): When you would take Lightning damage, reduce that damage to 0 and then Recover that amount of Health.

Red Abilities:

• Unleash The Darkness (A): Attack using Inventions. Use your Max + Mid + Min dice. Take a major twist.
• The Perfected Bezoar (A): Defend using Transmutation against all attacks against you until your next turn, using your Max + Mid die.

Out Ability: Hinder an opponent by rolling your single Transmutation die.

Aftermath: So, I like Doctor Cobalt, but I think he could definitely have been stronger if I wasn’t holding to these rules. He doesn’t have a Reaction because there wasn’t one in his Archetype, I would have given him the ability to defend other people earlier if I’d know that was coming, plus if I didn’t need to give him a new trait in the Archetype phase, he’d have started with Inventions at d10 instead of Fire.

But he still works, and he’s still fun. Not a serious loss.

This is one of my favs already.

Aw, why’d you have to rename Bob?

Argh, Doctor Cobalt belongs equally on Teams Magic and Technology!

I refuse to acknowledge a difference! Ahahahahah!

Great, now I’m sounding like a supervillain. In all seriousness, there are a few of these characters that jumped up my “the one I want to play” list, and Doctor Cobalt is near the top.

Step 1: Background

With eight heroes left, choices are starting to slim down. Results of 5 and 7 would unlock Unremarkable, Academic, and Criminal, but with all of those gone our choices are now Retired or Anachronistic.

I’m going to start with Anachronistic. Our hero is from the distant past, and has slept through the centuries until awoken by… something. They are a skilled fighter and mage, with Close Combat d10 and History d8. Upon awakening, they’ve learned quite a bit about this new world, and non-binary genders is one of those things. It was a pretty exciting discovery.

I have a few choices for Principles, but I’m going to be honest, I like the Principle of the Undead. Sir Teylor isn’t just a time-traveler. They died in glorious battle, and have been returned to… well, not exactly life, but something disturbingly close…

Step 2: Power Source

Anachronistic provides a d10, a d8, and a d6 for Power Source. Rolling those gives me 5, 5, and 2, which opens up Training, Mystical, Relic, and Tech Upgrades, so Mystical and Artificial Being. Let’s go ahead and finally take Mystical and create a proper mage knight.

The Rune Sword d10 gives our knight the powerful magical sword that is bound to their soul, Radiant d8 gives them holy might, and Presence d6 gives them a bit of raw social animus. It’s a good spread.

Mystic doesn’t give a lot of choices for special abilities – two out of three. Mystic Redirection lets Teylor use Radiant energy to redirect attacks to themselves, and then defend against them. Sever link lets them deal with environmental challenges with their rune sword, draining energy into themselves.

Finally, I get to pick up a free d10 Information instead of getting a Green Ability. Magical Lore it is. (Mage knight!)

Step 3: Archetype

Mystical gives us d10, d8, d8 for Archetype, and 8, 2, and 4 gives us Shadow, Marksman, Closer Quarters Combatant, Armored, Elemental Manipulator, and Sorcerer. That means Sorcerer or Minion-Maker, and I’m taking Sorcerer! Mage Knight! Mage Knight! Mage Knight!

As a Sorcerer, we can give Teylor Conviction d10, plus Absorption d8 to absorb energies and Leaping d8 for cool stunts. Pretty much all the Sorcerer Greens are attacks, which is useful. Let’s go with a Radiant Hinder that sometimes attacks, and the Runesword can Attack extremely powerfully.

In Yellow, we’ll take a trick with Absorption, to draw all the bonuses and penalties off someone and then Hinder them (usually useful against an enemy, but if a player has too many big Hinders, it can be worth replacing them all with a single one.)

We get a second Esoteric Principle here, and since we’ve leaned hard into magical stuff, I’ll give our knight the Principle of Magic. Sir Teylor can sense magical energies, and knows when they’re at hand.

Step 4: Personality

Our Personality roll gives us 1 and 9, which means Teylor could be a Lone Wolf, Inquisitive, or Alluring. So Lone Wolf or Natural Leader. I’m thinking Lone Wolf right now; it’s Teylor’s nature to run off and try to resolve situations alone, in order to shoulder the burdens of combat. This may be what got them killed the first time around, and it’s possible that this Personality will shift over time.

I’m not sure what to take for a roleplaying quality; a lot of the choices I would have made are really covered already. I think I will take Courtly Training; while Teylor doesn’t have a lot of social graces, they were trained in a noble court, and can fall back on formal etiquette (even if a lot of it is out of date.)

Step 5: Red Abilities

One of our Red Abilities is going to be unlocking the full power of the Rune Sword that Teylor wields, giving them a persistent Boost while also attacking. For the second, we’re going to go for the sacrifice play, using Teylor’s full conviction to hit extremely hard, at a heavy cost.

Step 6: Retcon

This is someone who’s going to be using their Reactions to pull aggro, while building up towards massive martyrdom blows. They do not need more Red Abilities, because I don’t think they’ll be sitting there for long. Let’s go ahead and boost their Red Die.

I should track how often I use each of the Retcon choices, just for fun.

Step 7: Health

Sir Teylor is pretty buff, with (8 + Red 10 + Conviction 10 + 4) 32 Health! Top end of the range.

Step 8: Alias

I spent some time mulling over whether Sir Teylor even has a superhero alias. In the end, I think they want to fit in with the team, so they call themselves Runesword.

Character Sheet

Runesword

Alias: Sir Teylor Clarihue

Background: Anachronistic, Power Source: Mystic, Archetype: Sorcerer, Personality: Lone Wolf

Principles: Undead [Esoteric], Magic [Esoteric]

• Roleplaying: You can be hurt and damaged, but you can ignore many of the afflictions that bother the living. You are attuned to an otherworldly force, and can feel the mystical energies of
• the area.
• Minor Twists: How did your undead nature unnerve those around you? What weird curse is now following you around?
• Major Twists: How are you risking your connection to the living world? What mystical backlash has changed your life?

Status Dice: Green d8, Yellow d8, Red d8

Health: 32 (Green 32-25, Yellow 24-12, Red 11-1)

Qualities:

• Close Combat (Physical) d10
• Magical Lore (Info) d10
• Conviction (Mental) d10
• History (Info) d8
• Courtly Training (RP) d8

Powers:

• The Runesword (Hallmark) d10
• Radiant (Element) d8
• Absorption (Self-Control) d8
• Leaping (Mobility) d8
• Presence (Intellectual) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Undead (A): Overcome in a situation in which your undead nature comes in handy and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Magic (A): Overcome a mystical force and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Light of the Heavens (A): Hinder using Radiant. Use your Max die. If you roll doubles, also Attack using your Mid die.
• Blade Strike (A): Attack using the Rune Sword. Use your Max die.

Yellow Abilities

• Cut Through (A): Overcome an environmental challenge using the Rune Sword. Use your Max die. Either remove any penalty in the scene or Boost using your Mid die.
• Energy Drain (A): Remove all bonuses and penalties from a target. Then, Hinder that target using your Absorption. Use your Max die.
• Knight’s Duty ®: When another nearby hero in the Yellow or Red zone would take damage, you may redirect it to yourself and then Defend against it with your single Radiant die.

Red Abilities:

• The Final Sword (A): Boost using the Rune Sword. Use your Max die. That bonus is persistant and exclusive. Attack with your Mid die.
• Sacrifice Play (A): Attack using Conviction. Use your Max + Mid + Min dice. Take a major twist.

Out Ability: Boost an ally by rolling your single Conviction die.

Aftermath: Undead holy knight with a high power magic-absorbing sword. I am all in for Sir Teylor, folks. I think they spend a lot of time trying to pretend that they definitely understand the modern world, and maybe some time wistfully dealing with the fact that the only taste buds they still have are for spicy foods.

I suspect that in the broader publishing metaverse, if these heroes were part of it, Sir Teylor was part of some comic in the 70s where they were the token ‘girl knight’ on a team of historical magic knights that ran for about 24 issues but had a large niche following, and they made a bunch of comments that later writers used to point out that they were absolutely a trans character, and then someone brought them back into the present as an undead knight and canonized it.

A holy undead, how cool.

Yep. Fanatic will absolutely lose it if they ever meet.

Runesword: I’m not dead!

The Regulator: 'Ere, he says he’s not dead.

Fanatic: Yes he is.

Runesword: I’m not.

The Regulator: He isn’t.

Fanatic: Well, he will be soon, he’s very ill.

Runesword: I’m getting better.

Fanatic: No you’re not, you’ll be stone dead in a moment.

Runesword obviously goes on Team Magic. Hmm, but that means that that team is at the maximum of five, so there’s no room for Doctor Cobalt. Hmm . . . I suppose I could see Doctor Cobalt and The Regulator on either Team Magic or Team Technology, and while we’re at it, Fernwick could be on Space or Technology, but it would be a shame for them to not be teammates with Synergist.

Keep in mind that you’ve still only got three teams laid out, and there are five teams in total! You may need to add some themes…

Step 1: Background

We roll a 7 and a 5 for our Background this time, which lets us start with Unremarkable, Academic, or Criminal. Since those are all taken we go in either direction from Criminal, resulting in a choice between Exile and Retired.

I’m thinking that Retired will be more flexible long-term, so this superhero is an exile from his home. But from where? Alien? Magic? Alternate universe? You know, let’s do an alternate universe, we don’t have one of those yet.

Our hero was a superhero in another world, who answered the call of the Mist Gates to defend the multiverse from Oblivaeon. He was badly hurt in the fight, and unable to return to his home before the Gates closed. Since his knowledge is liable to be mostly wrong, I’ll give him Conviction d10 and Insight d8.

For Ideals Principles, I’m going to take the Principle of the Defender. Victor (that’s his name now) wasn’t just hurt fighting, he was hurt saving the rest of his team, and ensuring that they could make it home.

Step 2: Power Source

Exile gives a lackadaisical three d8s for Power Source (so you can’t be an Exile powered by the Multiverse!) and our roll of 2, 8, and 4 gives us access to Training, Experimentation, Nature, Relic, Radiation, or Artificial Being. Let’s take Radiation. Our hero comes from a world bathed in radiation, where people have been transformed by the terrible energies.

I have to take a new Power, and I’ve only got two choices, so I’m going to take… both! Duplication d8 and Density Control d8, combined with Size-Changing d8, creates a hilarious array of variously-sized enemies who can also vary their mass and form.

In Yellow, our one-man army uses Size-Changing to recover and Boost, Density Control to attack and hinder, and in Green he uses his Duplication to attack anyone who gets too close.

Step 3: Archetype

Rolling a d10, a d8, and a d6 gives me 6, 1, and 1, which means that I can pick Speedster, Shadow, Close Quarters Combatant, or Armored. Since most of those are gone, I can pick Speedster or Minion Maker, and if I’m just creating all the duplicates, I am clearly making Victor a Minion-Maker.

I can bump Duplication up to d10, leaving me with a two d8s and a d6. I need a Materials under my “new Powers” rule, and I like the idea that my duplicates are kind of toxic and manipulate toxic waste. So Toxic d8, Investigation d8, and let’s say Science d6. No physical traits, so I’m only good at punching if it’s supporting my deeply-held beliefs.

For Abilities, Victor obviously makes minions with Duplication, and powers them up with Density Control. In Yellow, he can reduce damage by shucking it off towards his minions, staying alive faster.

Since Victor creates minions using his raw will, he gets ten options for what they can do. I’m going to pick the following: Autonomous, Floating, Pack, Explosive, Reinforced, Harsh, Stealth, Swift, Champion, Hive-Mind.

Minion-Makers get a… they get an Expertise Ability. Everyone gets Expertise Abilities. Well, joke’s on you, that gives me the Principle of the Indestructible. Because of his density-shifting, Victor is pretty much immune to small attacks.

Step 4: Personality

For Personality, I roll a 2 and a 6, so Victor could be a Natural Leader, Distant, or Fast-Talking. Let’s make him a Natural Leader – just generally a brick who is very impressive.

For his roleplaying Quality, I’m going to lean into that and give him Group Tactics, helping him help others, or pile on alongside his minions. He’s just very used to having to work with others, and doesn’t do as well when he’s on his own (although he has DETERMINATION to fall back on.)

Step 5: Red Abilities

Okay, let’s make this silly. Swarm Combat gives Victor a Max-die attack with a bonus equal to how many minions are out, and Summon Allies creates just so, so many minions. Combining these two should let him fill the field with copies of himself and then just jump someone.

Step 6: Retcon

I could pick up another Red Ability, or grab a Physical quality, but I like the idea of just boosting Victor’s Red. When he defends, he defends.

Step 7: Health

We’re looking at [8 + Conviction 10 + Red 12 + 4) 34 Health for Victor! Another hecking tank.

Step 8: Alias

Victor is The Line, the leader of a team of heroes in a post-apocalyptic world that was ravaged by nuclear devastation. He and his team kept his home city alive and comfortable against irradiated monsters and natural disasters, and answered the call to fight Oblivaeon. Now, stranded in this strange, lush world, he’s going to keep doing what he does best – building communities and helping people.

Character Sheet

The Line

Alias: Victor

Background: Exile, Power Source: Radiation, Archetype: Minion-Maker, Personality: Natural Leader

Principles: Defender [Ideals], Indestructible [Expertise]

• Roleplaying: You will put yourself in harm’s way to save others without a second thought. You ignore damage from unpowered close-combat weapons and attacks, such as clubs and non-powered fists, or basic ranged attacks, such as slings and arrows.
• Minor Twists: How do your actions put you in more danger than before? What goes wrong with your defenses?
• Major Twists: What great sacrifice did you just make to succeed? Who gets hurt other than you because your defenses failed?

Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d12

Health: 34 (Green 34-26, Yellow 25-13, Red 12-1)

Qualities:

• Conviction (Mental) d10
• Insight (Social) d8
• Investigation (Mental) d8
• Group Tactics (RP) d8
• Science (Info) d6

Powers:

• Duplication (Self-Control) d10
• Size Control (Self-Control) d8
• Density Control (Self-Control) d8

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Defender (A): Overcome in a situation that requires you to hold the line and use your Max Die, or use your Mid Die and Defend with your Min die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of the Indestructible (A): Overcome in a situation where you charge headlong into danger and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Double Stunt ®: When a new target enters the scene close to you, you may Attack it by rolling your single Duplication die.
• Duplicate (A): Create a minion using Duplication, with a die size based on the Minion Chart. Choose which basic action it can take. It acts at the start of your turn.
  • Minion Options: Autonomous, Floating, Pack, Explosive, Reinforced, Harsh, Stealth, Swift, Champion, Hive-Mind.
• Empower (A): Boost another hero or one of your minions using Density Control. Either use your Max die, or use your Mid die and make that bonus persistent.

Yellow Abilities:

• Shake It Off (A): Boost using Size-Changing. Then remove a penalty on you, or Recover using your Min die.
• Heavy Hitter (A): Attack using Density Control. Hinder that target using your Max die.
• Reform ®: Reduce any damage you take by the number of minions you have. Each time you do this, reduce the size of one of your minions.

Red Abilities:

• Swarm Combat (A): Attack with Duplication. Use your Max die plus a bonus equal to the number of minions you have.
• Fill The Field (A): Use Duplication to create a number of d6 minions equal to your Mid die. Choose the action they perform. They act at the start of your turn.

Out Ability: Boost an Ally by rolling your Conviction die.

If Victor has time to build up, he is going to be unstoppable. He’s less of a tank than some of our earlier friends, lacking any inherent damage reduction or turn-length Defense, but the ability to use his copies as ablative shields is pretty useful, especially once he hits Red and just generates a half-dozen buddies, and he can Defend as part of an Overcome and ignore getting punched, which is great. He has just enough Boost and Hinder tricks to fall back on if for whatever reason making minions isn’t cutting it, and he has Qualities to help him out outside of combat (not many powers, though; he can use his Size-Changing to investigate, but socially he is a bit awkward. No Intellectual Power options in either Radiation or Minion-Maker, and while I could have given him a d6, it’s not enough of a step up.)

One thing I wish he’d gotten was a way to draw fire. There weren’t any applicable Reactions in his pools, though, so he’ll have to rely on Overcomes.

I have to admit, this experiment of yours is far more interesting than I expected it to be! I may have to use this method for NPC generation at some point, just as a neat way to help fill out a setting!

Thanks! I wasn’t sure if the system would work when I started, but it generally went well. And speaking of people doing well…

Step 1: Background

For this hero, our Background roll nets us an 8 and a 9! That gives us Tragic, Performer, and Interstellar, which means Tragic and Dynasty. I’m going with a Tragic backstory. Naomi’s parents were killed during a major supervillain attack on Megalopolis. Let’s say… oh, it was when Citizen Dawn invaded the city. She was saved by a hero, but her family was already gone. This has filled her with a need to help people, and be good enough that no one dies.

Naomi has Close Combat d10 and Alertness d8; she’s trained her whole life to fight, and she’s always aware of her surroundings. She also has the Principle of the Hero – she has to help, no matter the cost.

Step 2: Power Source

Tragic gives you d10, d10, d6 for your Power Source, which is pretty nice. 3, 1, and 6 gives us access to Accident, Genetic, Experimentation, Nature, Relic, or Radiation. That means Genetic or Artificial Being.

… oh. Oh, I think we have a new idea. Naomi’s parents weren’t civilians. They were Citizens of the Sun. And they were killed by other Citizens for having a change of heart and trying to save people. Naomi was there as a young teen, brought along to unleash her powers for the first time, but the Freedom Five showed up and fought the Citizens that killed her parents, and she pretended not to have been one. She ended up in the foster system, hiding her powers until she became an adult.

I need to take a new power if possible, and Telekinesis is the only one of the six available, so Telekinesis d10. For my other two, let’s take Presence d10, and Remote Viewing d6; Naomi has a fierce personal aura that draws people to her, and can stretch out her senses around the region.

For Abilities, I’m going to take Adaptive and Danger Sense – Naomi uses her Presence to build people up, and her Telekinesis to protect herself. In Green, she can definitely Rally, charging into the fray and inspiring everyone around her.

Step 3: Archetype

My Genetic roll gives me a 1, 5, and 3, which means that after I shear off the impossibles it’s either Speedster or Form-Changer. I think I like Speedster. Naomi uses telekinesis, but she’s also an up-close and personal fighter; she throws herself at enemies, beats them up, and moves on to the next target.

Unfortunately, my choices mean I’m doubling up a bit. Naomi has both Speed d10 and Momentum d8, because Momentum is on my list of things that need to be taken if possible and none of the other choices are available (which is a shame, because Sonic would be great!) So Naomi is not only fast, she gets faster the longer she moves, and uses that speed to shift things around her. For my last, I’m pretty short on Qualities, so let’s take Fitness. Naomi is a fighter, but she’s also good at moving around.

For Abilities, she can use her Speed to charge in and Attack while also Defending, and use her Telekinesis to create boosts and hinders by messing with the environment. In Yellow, she adds the ability to hit and hinder a lot of people with Close Combat, which she can support with her speed or telekinesis.

For Principle…

Expertise.

For the twelfth time.

Sure, why not. I have exactly three of those left, might as well toss another one on. Wonder how many more are going to show up in the last ten options.

We’re taking the Principle of the Powerless. Naomi is not actually powerless, but she uses her powers to enhance her training and skills, and she’s spent her early life around people who are even stronger. It’s partially about rejecting her Citizen upbring, and partially about having a keen eye.

Step 4: Personality

9 and 4 gives us the options (after removing used choices) of Mischievous or Jovial. The special ability of Mischievous is wildly unsuited to this character, so let’s take Jovial. Naomi forces a smile all the time.

For our RP, I’m going to go with “Former Citizen” d8, which gives her a lot of special information about villains and powers that most people don’t have.

Step 5: Red Abilities

It feels like I should lean into movement and Close Combat for my Reds, so let’s do it. Endurance Fighting lets Naomi Hinder whenever she attacks, and a Calculated Dodge lets her burn down a bit further to get out of the way of a major attack.

Step 6: Retcon

This is one time that I’m reluctantly going to take a d6. I really want Naomi to have something social, and I’m going with Persuasion. Just wish it gave you a d8 instead.

Step 7: Health

We’re looking at (8 + Red 10 + Speed 10 + 4) 32 Health for Naomi.

Step 8: Alias

As a Citizen, Naomi went by Citizen Haste. But she’s tossed that name in the trash where it belongs, and now goes by the heroic moniker of Breakguard.

Character Sheet

Breakguard

Alias: Naomi Arenson

Background: Tragic, Power Source: Genetic, Archetype: Speedster, Personality: Jovial

Principles: Hero (Ideals), Powerless (Expertise)

• Roleplaying: Because of your abilities, you have a calling to save others. You value training and work over powers, and know how to get things done without powers and how to exploit flaws in powered individuals.
• Minor Twists: Your immediate need to help someone else causes you to drop the ball in your personal life. What was it? What temporary injury did you just suffer?
• Major Twists: You’re given an ultimatum between your life as a hero and something that you value. What do you choose? What serious injury did you just suffer?

Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d10

Health: XX (Green X, Yellow Y, Red Z)

Qualities:

• Close Combat (Physical) d10
• Alertness (Mental) d8
• Fitness (Physical) d8
• Former Citizen (RP) d8
• Persuasion (Social) d6

Powers:

• Telekinesis (Psychic) d10
• Presence (Intellectual) d10
• Speed (Athletic) d10
• Momentum (Mobility) d8
• Remote Viewing (Psychic) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Hero (A): Overcome when innocents are in danger and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of the Powerless (A): Use your knowledge of the limitations of super powers in an Overcome and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Rally (A): Attack using Close Combat. Other nearby heroes in the Yellow or Red Zone recover equal to your Min die.
• Charge (A): Attack using Speed. Defend yourself using your Min die.
• Subtle Control (A): Boost or Hinder using Telekinesis. Use your Max die. If you roll doubles, you may also Attack using your Mid die.

Yellow Abilities:

• Second Wind (A): Boost yourself using Presence, then either remove a penalty or Recover equal to your Min die.
• Mind Shield ®: When damaged by an environment target or a surprise Attack, Defend yourself using your Telekinesis die.
• Break the Field (A): Attack multiple targets using Close Combat. Hinder each target using your Min die.

Red Abilities:

• Endurance Fighting (I): Whenever you Attack an enemy with an action, also Hinder them with your Min die.
• Calculated Dodge ®: When you are Attacked or Hindered, you may take 1 irreducible damage to force your attacker to reroll their entire pool.

Out Ability: Defend an Ally by rolling your single Close Combat die.

Aftermath: So, I have a small confession to make: I cheated in one place with Naomi. I had given her a Yellow area attack as part of her Power Source, and when I realized the Speedster offered a phenomenally stronger one, I made a swap. And I mean just overwhelmingly stronger. It’s the difference between “attack everyone with your Min die” and “attack everyone with your Mid die and also Hinder them with your Min die and you can use a Quality instead of a Power to make it more versatile.”

I just sort of counted it as a swap, since it was the exact same concept. Sorry if this ruins anyone’s feeling of completeness. If you do, you can assume she uses Telekinesis for a very weak area attack and has a strong single-target attack instead.

Anyway, I like Naomi. She’s got skeletons in her closet, and doesn’t want to let them drag her down.

Now that’s a backstory! Of course, it has me wondering who Citizen Waste was…

I’ve decided that once you’re done, I’m going to do a similar thread. XD

Ooh, I am excited to see what you come up with!

And there may be an appearance by Citizen Waste in the future - not to spoil anything, but when I finished my heroes I started a set of randomized villains to oppose them, which I’m definitely planning to post once they’re done.

Oh, that’s even more exciting.

Wouldn’t Citizen Waste be Naomi’s child? After all Haste makes Waste.

Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that, but I just haven’t seen any other similar themes emerging. I suppose I’m merely taking into account the big, obvious themes, and not subtler character interactions, though.

Breakguard and The Line don’t seem to fit on any of my established teams . . . I guess I’ll put them together in Team Random Superpowers. Er, maybe I could put Atomizer and the Line on Team Nuclear Radiation?

That makes two of us. ; )

It might just be that Waste looked up to Haste, and patterned himself after her? I’m still mucking with it (and seeing what else matches with Haste, for that matter.)

But in the mean time…

Step 1: Background

Well, well. 10 and 9 on our first roll unlocks Performer, Military, and Otherworldy, which for us means Military and Created. Let’s do a Military person. I feel like most ex-military characters in comics are either Army or Air Force, so here is a Navy guy.

His name is Greg.

As a military officer, Greg has tremendous Fitness (d10) and Leadership skills (d8) but he doesn’t focus on in-person combat. And as a successful military officer, he follows the Principle of Order; rules exist for a reason, and you should follow the chain of command.

Step 2: Power Source

Military gives out d10, d8, and d8, which nets us 9, 7, and 5. After all the crossing-off and adding up, that leaves me with Artificial Being or Unknown. I like being wrong, so we’re going with Unknown! George has no idea why he has powers, which just absolutely drives him up the wall. It is a major source of chaos that completely upended his career goals and life plan. This is much funnier than being a robot secretly.

George can control Metal (d10), a fact that he found out during a routine training exercise. He’s also got an aura of command (Presence d8) and has tremendous Strength (d8), making him an exceptional physical specimen. It’s weird.

For abilities, our officer is a Boost factory. He can attack with his Metal and Boost, he can Boost everyone else and Hinder himself. He also picks up Imposing d8; he’s kind of a scary guy when he’s annoyed, which is always.

Step 3: Archetype

1, 8, and 2 means that we could be a Form-Changer or a Gadgeteer. Let’s go with Gadgeteer; he can already shape metal, why not let him control what’s inside it, too?

Inventions d10 lets Greg build incredible tools in any situation. Technology d8 lets him understand it, and Alertness d6 is a nice fallback. For Abilities, in Green he can make powerful Hinders or push himself for more impressive actions. In Yellow, he can turn bonuses and penalties into each other.

We get an Identity Principle as a Gadgeteer, and I’m leaning into our unofficial inspiration by giving Greg the Principle of Rage. When he gets angry, he gets toweringly angry, focused on the things that are disrupting his life and hurting others.

Step 4: Personality

Double 7s gives me Naïve and Impulsive. He’s definitely not naïve, so… well, someone had to take it.

Unfortunately, Greg isn’t the best choice for this because he’s not focused on any one Power or Quality, but he can make some use of his Metal (to d12.)

Just… d6 Yellow Status die. God.

Step 5: Red Abilities

Well, I’m definitely taking something with Metal! Powerful Strike lets him just unleash a metal death attack, and then Like the Wind lets him turn damage against him into Hinders, which is an amazing image of him pulling up metal defenses that he then has to clamber out of.

Step 6: Retcon

Oh, he’s getting a Red step-up. He’s got to be good eventually.

Step 7: Health

We’re looking at (8 + Red 10 +Athletics 8 + 4) for 30 Health, nicely in the middle.

Step 8: Alias

So, turning into a superhuman that can reflexively pull apart boats when there’s trouble is not something that the Navy wants in an officer, but they’re still using Greg as a military attaché. With that in mind, I think he’s got a fake military title that he hates, like Commodore Ironclad.

He hates that title so much.

Character Sheet

Commodore Ironclad

Alias: Greg Swann

Background: Military, Power Source: Unknown, Archetype: Gadgeteer, Personality: Impulsive

Principles: Order [Ideals], Rage [Identity]

• Roleplaying: You believe in organization and concordance. You always keep your head in the face of chaos. They don’t like you when you’re angry. Your fury is intimidating to many.
• Minor Twists: What element of disorder caused your plan to fall apart? What did your anger just mess up?
• Major Twists: How is your ordered existence ruined by chaos? Who have you thoroughly alienated with your outbursts?

Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d6, Red d10

Health: 30 (Green 30-23, Yellow 22-12, Red 11-1)

Qualities:

• Fitness (Physical) d10
• Leadership (Social) d8
• Imposing (Social) d8
• Technology (Info) d8
• Alertness (Mental) d6

Powers:

• Metal (Materials) d10
• Gadgets (Technology) d10
• Presence (Intellectual) d8
• Strength (Athletics) d8

Green Abilities:

• Principle of Order (A): Overcome a challenge where you can organize other people. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Rage (A): Overcome in a situation in which you can channel your rage for good and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Interference (A): Hinder using Metal. You may either use your Max die, or use your Mid die and make it persistent and exclusive.
• Clear-Headed ®: After rolling your dice pool, you can take 1 irreducible damage to reroll the entire pool.

Yellow Abilities:

• On the Edge (A): Attack using Metal. Hit one target using your Min die and a second target with your Mid die, and Boost with your Max die.
• Commander (A): Boost all nearby allies using Presence, with your Max + Mid die. Hinder yourself with your Min die.
• Tactical Analysis (A): Turn any bonus into a penalty of equal size, or vice versa.

Red Abilities:

• Razor Strike (A): Attack with Metal. Use your Max + Mid dice.
• Instinctive Armor ®: When you are attacked and dealt damage, you may ignore that damage completely. If you do, treat the result as a Hinder against you.

Out Ability: The hero who goes after you may take 1 irreducible damage to reroll their entire dice pool.

Aftermath:

So I made an Unknown Gadgeteer after all just because it made sense. There you go!

I also made Donald Duck, just a little bit, in that he is a former naval officer whose life is constantly overturned by chaos, and responds with berserk fury when he’s not tripping over himself trying to keep everything under control. You’re welcome.

Tactically, there’s some interesting uses of taking damage to reroll bad dice pools in Green and Yellow, then just shrugging damage off when you hit Red and go berserk.

Narratively, I don’t know if Greg is ever going to discover what caused his powers. Bored demigod? Magical ritual gone wrong? Isoflux Alpha? On a certain level, I don’t know if it matters – it was a cosmic coincidence that completely upset his well-maintained life and now he has to deal with that, and I think that’s more interesting than digging into why it actually happened.

Booo! XD

Oh my god, I knew there was a reason I liked this guy. XD

Hmm, I think I’m just going to wait for all the heroes to be made, but before you reveal the official teams, to guess what teams they’ll be on.

Four to go! Getting down to the line. Which reminds me: when I do get to Modular and Divided, I’ll be doing a reroll to decide their secondary Archetype, and obviously will be doubling up. I won’t take the same double for both.

Step 1: Background

Opening rolls of 6 and 10 gives us a bunch of things we don’t have, which means my actual choices are Dynasty and Created. Let’s go with Dynasty. Raiya’s mother was (is?) a lesser-known superhero in the Sentinels Universe, and Raiya is expected to follow in her footsteps.

She has trained extensively, and has Close Combat d10 and History d10, knowing all the ins and outs of her family’s legacy of… well, let’s see of what?

For Principles, Raiya has the Principle of Great Power; she spends a lot of time focusing on how strong her powers are, which actually causes her to hold back a bit.

Step 2: Power Source

In exchange for slightly better Qualities, Dynasty gives out just garbage Power Source dice, so that’s fun. d8, d8, and d6 gives us 8, 5, and 2, which means that I choose between Genius and Higher Power. Higher Power is heavily reliant on Min dice, so we’re going to go with Genius. Raiya isn’t just expected to follow her mother; she’s a genius who has been trying to do so her whole life.

For Powers, Raiya is skilled at Deduction (d8) and Inventions (d8), and has a certain Presence (d6) about her that isn’t really her core thing, but is useful. She also gets a free d10 in Technology to build her devices.

Step 3: Archetype

Rolling up a d10 and two d6s, Raiya ends up with a 6 and two 4s, which means Form-Changer or Reality Shaper. I’m actually going to make her a Form-Changer. Raiya’s inventions take the form of modular tools that allow her to deploy various combat loadouts.

Unrelated: Form-Changer and Modular really don’t both need to exist. They do the same thing in very slightly different ways.

Anyway! Form-Changer requires a Self-Control power, and Raiya’s is Size-Changing d10. She’ll also pick up two d6s, in Speed and Stealth.

For Green Abilities, Raya is more of a fast changers than a fixer. She can take an action and then change, or make a big attack and then change. For Forms, she’s got a versatile toolbox that deploys inventions to help and hinder enemies, a big tough form that’s hard to hurt, and in Yellow she can switch to a fast and maneuverable form to get around.

Form-Changer also gives us an Esoteric Principle, and all six of the ones that are available to me are just not at all what this character is about. But you know what? Heck, let’s take the Principle of Flora. In addition to her main thing, Raiya just kind of loves plants. Doesn’t have any plant-based superpowers, but you don’t need to have superpowers to know how plants work. Maybe a bunch of her Inventions are actually based around plants and pollens, just because she thinks they’re neat.

Step 4: Personality

A 2d10 roll for Personality gives us a shot at Fast Talking or Naïve, neither of which quite seem to work. I’m going to take Naïve. For all that she wants to be a hero, Raiya is still a little sheltered and prone to assuming that things are as they appear. This, of course, means another weak Yellow die, but her beast of a Red makes up for it and she’s got the shifting dice totals to let it ride.

Superheroic Scion gives Raiya knowledge of heroes, as well as a social edge when dealing with them. It’s about the only social edge that she has, so that’s important.

Step 5: Red Abilities

Picking good Red Abilities for Raiya is tricky, because she’s constantly shifting what she’s good at. I’m going to give her Ultimate Weaponry because it can sustain itself through form changes, and a Discern Weakness to just really mess someone up using Technology.

Step 6: Retcon

Raiya is extremely powerful in Red, and has the option for solid defense, so let’s give her a third Red Ability. Change Self lets her just swap two of her power dice at the start of each turn, making her tremendously versatile. Unstoppably so, even.

Step 7: Health

Well, we’re looking at (8 + Red 12 + Speed 6 + 4) for 30 Health. I… don’t think that changes when her Speed shifts.

Step 8: Alias

Raiya’s alias is based on her ability to reshape her powers at will. She calls herself Nanoswarm.

Character Sheet

Nanoswarm

Alias: Raiya Jabal

Background: Dynasty, Power Source: Genius, Archetype: Form-Changer, Personality: Naïve

Principles: Great Power [Ideals], Flora [Esoteric]

• Roleplaying: Your powers are so strong they can even scare you sometimes, but you work hard to control them. You can wield those powers to intimidate others. You can identify any type of plant life and determine its origin in broad terms, such as Earth, alien, etc.
• Minor Twists: How do you restrain yourself from unleashing your full power? What grows out of your control?
• Major Twists: What major damage do you inflict in the process of saving the day? How is nature reclaiming something important?

Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d6, Red d12

Health: 30 (Green 30-24, Yellow 23-12, Red 11-1)

Qualities:

• Close Combat (Physical) d10
• History (Info) d10
• Technology (Info) d10
• Superheroic Scion (RP) d8
• Stealth (Physical) d6

Powers:

• Size-Changing (Self-Control) d10
• Inventions (Tech) d8
• Deduction (Intellectual) d8
• Presence (Intellectual) d6
• Speed (Athletic) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of Great Power (A): Overcome using your highest-rated Power and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Flora (A): Overcome with the aid of local flora and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Change Loadout (A): Take a basic action using Size-Changing, and then change to any form.
• Electronic Assault (A): Attack using Size-Changing and use your Max die. Then change to any form.

Green Forms:

Toolbox Chassis: Boost Inventions to d10, reduce Size-Changing to d8.

Wonderful Toys (A): Boost or Hinder using Inventions. Use your Max die.

Armored Chassis: Add Strength d10, reduce Size-Changing to d6, Remove Speed.

Heavy Armor (I): Reduce damage by 1 in the Green Zone, 2 in the Yellow Zone, and 3 in the Red Zone.

Yellow Abilities:

• Just As Planned ®: When you are attacked, you may Defend with your lone Deduction die, and then Boost yourself by the same amount.
• The Perfect Lever (A): Attack using Inventions. Then, if the target of the Attack survived, also Attack using your Max die. Otherwise, Recover equal to your Min die.

Yellow Form:

Rapid-Response Chassis: Boost Size-Changing to d10 and Speed to d12. Reduce Inventions to d6.

Like The Wind (A): Attack using Speed. Then Defend against all attacks using your Min die until your next turn.

Red Abilities:

• Emergency Change ®: When hit with an Attack, change to any form before resolving the Attack. Take a minor twist.
• Ultimate Weaponry (A): Boost yourself using Inventions. Use your Max die. That bonus is persistent and exclusive. Then, Attack using your Mid die plus that bonus.
• Spot The Weak Point (A): Remove a bonus on a target. Hinder that target using Technology. Use your Max die, and that penalty is persistent and exclusive.
• Quick-Mode (I): At the start of your turn, you may swap the value of two of your Power dice. They stay swapped until changed again or until the scene ends.

Out Ability: Hinder an opponent by rolling your single Inventions die.

Aftermath:

Nanoswarm is goddamn nonsense.

I mean, she is going to be pretty effective in Green and Yellow, despite her poor Status die, but if she’s in her agile form when she hits Red she can start each turn with a Red d12 and a Power d12 in whatever she’s planning to do, plus her choice of three d10 Qualities and probably at least one bonus, maybe more. She can Defend and Boost as a Reaction, she can take Attacks that give her long-term defense, she has a massive Boost that attacks and a nasty ability to strip enemies of their buffs.

She’s not omni-capable, of course. When it comes to the social arena, she gets tongue-tied (especially in Green and Yellow!) and somewhat hilariously for a genius, she doesn’t have any Mental Qualities – Dynasty and Form-Changer don’t have them as options, and the only one I could have taken in Genius I needed for Technology. So she is a very focused genius.

Which still makes sense.

About the only thing I’m sad about is that while the Flora Principle is amusing, it’s not very effective. If I’d know that was going to happen I might have built differently and had her use Science to be a plant-shaper, but such is life! It gives her a bit of flavour and a secondary aspect.

Yeah. Modular is basically the mechanically crunchier version of Form-Changer, in a game that is very overtly not mechanically crunchy.

Modular mostly seems it is there to be able to make Bunker how they wanted to and what they had with Form Changer didn’t fully fit. On a whole Divided and Modular are ones I’d really have players avoid.

Agreed.

Yeah, I’ll have some more to talk about when I hit those last two, but I think you could build Bunker with Form-Changer decently effectively, at least if you let him use Gadgets instead of a Self-Control power as his form-changing ability (and honestly, I don’t think Form-Changer should require Self-Control. There are a few ways I could imagine have different ‘forms’ work beyond literally changing your shape; I’d love to build Mr. Fixer as a Form-Changer instead of a Close Quarters Combatant, for example, with each of his martial arts styles being a Form.

Almost done! I’m still going to try to leave Divided and Modular for last, which probably means that this’ll be our Reality Shaper.

Step 1: Background

Two d10s gives us 4 and 9, which gives us the options of Created or Struggling. Let’s do Created. K-17 was designed to be the perfect being, an absolute miracle of science. He has studied everything about his creation, and is curious to experience the world.

K-17 has a d12 for Science, and a d6 in Finesse. He is very studied, and quick with his hands, but not necessarily wise.

Our second-last Expertise Principle nets us the Principle of the Lab; K-17 still has a good relationship with the scientists that created him, and lives at the lab when he’s not out exploring the world.

Step 2: Power Source

Created is kind of overpowered, and gives d10, d10, d6 for Power Source. Rolling those gets us 8, 2, and 4. After the usual deductions and substitutions, my choices are Artificial Being (the obvious) or Higher Power (the weird). As funny as an Angel Robot would be, let’s just say that K-17 is in fact a very created being.

I’ve got one power that hasn’t been taken, so K-17 gets Sonic d10. I’m also going to give him Gadgets d10, and Lightning Calculator d6. In Yellow, he can use his Sonic Blast to hit a lot of people, and take irreducible damage to reroll his entire pool. In Green, he can reroll each 1 he rolls once.

This is a character who is very good at basic actions, is what I’m saying.

Step 3: Archetype

I’ve got a d10 and two d8s for Archetype, which means that my choices are Reality Shaper or Divided. Can’t roll the 19 I would need for a different option. So Reality Shaper it is! K-17 was created as a test to create a device capable of interacting with the fabric of reality, using focused sonic energies to poke holes in existence. Sentience was an unexpected side benefit.

Teleportation is our one extra d8 Power, and I’m going to take Alertness d10 and Otherworldly Mythos d8 as my last two dice. For Green Abilities, Probability Insight uses his gadgets for a boost and maybe attack, while Warp Space uses Teleportation to really ruin someone’s day. In Yellow, an extra Reaction lets K-17 instantly remove bonuses or penalties that an enemy creates.

Reality Shaper gives us Expertise, because that’s definitely what I think of when I think of reshaping the bonds of reality, whether you are good at a specific thing. Anyway, we don’t actually have a choice. We’re adding the Principle of Science to the mix. Just very, very, very good at Science!

Step 4: Personality

Rolling 5 and 3 for Personality, after modifiers, gives me the choice of Sarcastic or Fast-Talking. Let’s have a Fast-Talking robot. With no social skills, he’s just always trying to crack wise and discuss situations and get through things faster. And it never, ever works.

For roleplaying, I feel like “Robot” is the obvious choice, especially since we don’t have it anywhere else.

Step 5: Red Abilities

Critical Eye lets me use my Science to give someone an absolutely massive Boost, but they’ve got to use it, and Take Down is a powerful Attack that’s also a solid Hinder, good for villain-fighting.

Step 6: Retcon

After careful consideration, I am giving K-17 a bigger Red Die because why not.

Step 7: Health

We’re looking at (8 + Red 12 + Alertness 10 + 4) 34 Health for K-17, getting into the beefy zone.

Step 8: Alias

He’s a robot that reshapes reality through the power of science, so K-17 is calling himself the Determinator.

Look, he thinks it’s funny.

Character Sheet

Determinator

Alias: K-17

Background: Created, Power Source: Artificial Being, Archetype: Reality Shaper, Personality: Fast-Talking

Principles: Lab [Expertise], Science [Expertise]

• Roleplaying: You have nearly unlimited access to a dedicated research area, and are at home there. You are up to date on and understand most modern scientific theories and research and can quote from them during conversations.
• Minor Twists: What did you make a detour for to observe and sample for the lab? What were the unexpected side effects of leveraging that scientific principle?
• Major Twists: Something’s gone very wrong at the lab; what was it? Oh, heck, what just blew up?

Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d12

Health: 34 (Green X, Yellow Y, Red Z)

Qualities:

• Science (Info) d12
• Alertness (Mental) d10
• Otherworldly Mythos (Info) d8
• Robot (RP) d8
• Finesse (Physical) d6

Powers:

• Sonic (Elemental) d10
• Teleportation (Mobility) d10
• Gadgets (Tech) d10
• Lightning Calculator (Intellectual) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Lab (A): Overcome while in a familiar workspace or when you have ample research time. Use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Science (A): Overcome while applying specific scientific principles. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Perfected Activity (I): Whenever you roll a 1 on one or more dice, you may reroll it. You must accept the results of the new roll.
• Redefine Function (A): Boost using Gadgets. Use your Max die. If you roll doubles, you may also Attack using your Mid die.
• Warp Space (A): Attack with Teleportation. You may move the target of that Attack anywhere else nearby. If the target goes next, you decide who takes the next turn after that.

Yellow Abilities:

• Sonic Blast (A): Attack multiple targets with Sonic. Use your Min die against each.
• Overclock ®: Take 1 irreducible damage to reroll your entire pool.
• Rewire ®: When a nearby enemy would create a bonus or penalty, you may remove it immediately.

Red Abilities:

• Twist The World (A): Attack with Teleportation. Use your Max die. Then Hinder your target with your Mid + Min dice.
• The Power of Science (A): Choose a target. Boost using Science. Use your Max + Mid + Min die. The bonus must be used by your next turn, or it is wasted.

Out Ability: Hinder a minion or lieutenant by rolling your Science die, then increase the penalty by -1.

Aftermath:

It is odd building a robot with no Physical Qualities rated above a d6, but here we are.

On a certain level, “use sonic force to tear open holes in the world” doesn’t make a lick of sense, but it doesn’t make any sense in a comic book way so I’m pretty happy with it. K-17 also has the drawback of two different science-based principles; I considered using the Retcon to swap Principles, but it felt against the spirit of the way I’m building characters so I didn’t.

I also like the idea that K-17 still has a good relationship with his lab and creators, which is something that is rare for robot superheroes, I feel like. Normally good guy creators of good guy robots get killed early on. Is the lab good, or secretly evil? I’m leaning good, but you never know.

Just what we needed, a reality-shaping robot that thinks it’s funny. XD

There was a comic called Halo & Sprocket about an angel and robot that hang out together. So, you know, it could happen.

Enjoying these builds a lot!

Thanks, and welcome to the boards!

Eighteen down, two to go. We are so close that I can taste it! We’re also in the odd situation in which I know almost exactly what my last two friends look like, because there are only two options left for everything. The only question is what doubled Archetypes we end up with.

Step 1: Background

We’re finally getting around to one of the stronger Archetypes – Retired. Jay was a hero back in the 80s and early 90s, but when they had children, they set aside their powers to let others take up the call of heroism. Now, they’re pushing 60 and looking at the world, and they want to make it safe for their children and grandchildren. It’s time to step up again.

I get Social and Information Principles, and I’m going to take Insight d10 and Magical Lore d10. Jay understands people, and understands magic. They used to be a lot more athletic, but time marches on.

As a Retired Hero, I get an Identity Principle, and the Principle of Levity seems good, here. Jay has seen enough to not take anything too seriously, and tries to keep everyone’s spirits up with the occasional wisecrack and silly joke.

Step 2: Power Source

Our two choices are Higher Power and Multiverse, so we’re taking Higher Power. Jay was Chosen to be a superhero by a force of pure goodness. I don’t think it’s a literal divine force, though. More that it’s a ‘heavenly’ realm that looked at the world and decided that they needed to do something to help, and empowering a good-hearted human was the most they could do.

We hit an interesting little wrinkle here, but I love it. Retired gives a d12 and two d6s, and we have to take Toxic according to my rules. So our Chosen One can control poisons and toxic things, either purifying them or enhancing them into those who have done wrong. They also pick up Strength d6, and Suggestion d6; they can influence minds just a little bit, and are pretty strong.

Following along on the ‘healing and toxins’ route, Yellow gives Jay the ability to unleash toxins in people’s bodies that hurt and hinder them; doing that creates a feedback effect that also hurts Jay. Instead, they can make an attack with their Strength, and use that to Boost anyone who is trying to Attack or Overcome. In Green, they can burn the toxins in themselves to reroll their pool when it comes up short.

Step 3: Archetype

We are Modular! We still have to roll d10, d8, d8 to determine our secondary Archetype, though. With results of 1, 5, and 6 we get Speedster, Blaster, Close Quarters Combatant, Armored, and Sorcerer. The only thing this gives us is dice choices and a Principle.

I’m going to take Close Quarters Combatant, just to get a Responsibility Principle, which sounds good. This requires me to take Close Combat d10, and I’ll add Flight d8 and Vitality d8 to the mix. Looks like the physical stuff can be recovered.

As a Modular character, I get four Modes for Jay (plus default), and I think these are the four semi-divine beings that they can call upon for power. First, Jay gets the basic ability to Boost and then change Modes, which is okay but not impressive (compare to Form-Changer, which is much more versatile.) In Yellow, they can destroy a bonus, change modes, and then act, and in Red they can change modes if they’re hit, but they take more damage.

In Green, calling upon Desalath, Incarnate of Speed locks Jay into Toxic d10, Flight d10, Strength d8, and Vitality d8. In this mode they can’t attack enemies or Boost themselves, but can do powerful overcomes and get around the area rapidly in preparation for hitting Yellow.

In Yellow, Jay can call upon Sirrek, Incarnate of Hope, locking themselves into Toxic d12, Flight d4, Vitality d12, Suggestion d4. In this form they can’t Hinder or Overcome, but can use their Vitality to defend everyone efficiently (which also makes their Toxic attack even stronger, since they won’t be Hindering themselves…) Alternately, they can call upon Toran, Incarnate of Power, and lock themselves into Toxic d10, Vitality d6, and Strength d12. They can unleash extremely powerful Attacks while Defending themselves, but can’t Boost, Hinder, or Overcome (which as an aside, also affects that Toxic area attack, making it just a nice area attack.)

Finally, in Red, Jay can call upon Cyrox, Incarnate of Sin. In this mode they are engulfed by toxic energies, getting only the Powers of Toxic d12, Vitality d10, and Strength d6, and they can’t Boost or move, but their basic attacks become much stronger.

Jay’s Responsibility Principle is the Principle of Family. We mentioned their family back at the start, and now we can make it a huge part of their life. They’re married, they have several siblings and cousins and numerous children, plus a few grand-children to boot.

Step 4: Personality

Well, we’re finally getting it. Mischievous lets us use Toxic instead of Vitality for health, at the cost of a worse Red Die. Going to have to fix that later.

Step 5: Red Abilities

Our primary goal in Red is to make the Destroyer Form even more nonsense. Inspiring Totem lets Jay take a basic action when they use an Ability Action, which means stacking multiple attacks onto area attacks. Endurance Fighting lets you Hinder anyone you attack; I’ve already taken it, but I’m going to stretch and take it again because it’s so silly.

Basically, in this Mode, Jay can use their Toxic power to attack multiple people, then Hinder them, then Hinder them, then attack one or two more people and Hinder them. It is a devastating swarm of toxic nightmare.

Step 6: Retcon

We could push Red to d10, but instead I’m going to take Impossible Knowledge to just really, really be the worst.

Step 7: Health

We’re looking at (8 + Red 8 + Toxic 12 + 4) 32 Health for Jay!

Step 8: Alias

Jay channels mystical beings through themselves in order to control life and death. I’m going to go ahead and call them… The Channeler. Because it’s simple.

Character Sheet

The Channeler

Alias: Jay Ingram

Background: Retired, Power Source: Higher Power, Archetype: Modular [Close Quarters], Personality: Mischievous

Principles: Levity [Identity], Family [Responsibility]

• Roleplaying: You keep your positive outlook even when all hope is lost. Your spirit is nearly impossible to break. Your family is an important part of your life. You have relatives in a wide range of fields that you can call upon.
• Minor Twists: Who did you offend by making light at the wrong time? Which member of your family just compromised your mission?
• Major Twists: What has finally caused your spirits to break? What do you have to give up in your heroic life for the sake of your family?

Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d8

Health: 32 (Green 32-24, Yellow 23-12, Red 11-1)

Qualities:

• Insight (Social) d10
• Magical Lore (Info) d10
• Close Combat (Physical) d10

Powers:

• Toxic (Materials) d12
• Flight (Mobility) d8
• Vitality (Athletic) d8
• Strength (Athletic) d6
• Suggestion (Psychic) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of Levity (A): Overcome a dire situation in which your jokes prevent demoralization and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of Family (A): Overcome in a situation in which you’ve been given advice from a family member and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Absolute Conviction ®: After rolling during your turn, you may take 1 irreducible damage to reroll your entire die pool.
• Call Upon (A): Boost yourself with Magical Lore, then change Modes.

Yellow Abilities:

• Poisonous Sin (A): Attack multiple targets using Toxic. Use your Mid die. Hinder all targets damaged with your Min die. Hinder yourself with your Max die.
• Lead the Way (A): Attack with Strength. Boost all nearby heroes using Attack or Overcome actions with your Min die until the start of your next turn.
• Empowered Call (A): Destroy a bonus on you, then change Modes. Take an action in your new Mode.

Red Abilities:

• Divine Channeling ®: When you are hit by any attack, you may change to any Mode. If you do, take extra damage equal to the attack’s Min die, or take a minor twist.
• Infectious (I): Whenever you use an Ability action, you may also perform a basic action using your Mid die on the same roll.
• Corrosive (I): Whenever you Attack a target with an action, you may also Hinder that target with your Min die.
• Impossible Knowledge (I): At the start of your turn, change any penalty into a bonus.

Modes:

Default Mode: No special changes.

Desalath, Incarnate of Speed [Green]

• Powers: Toxic d10, Flight d10, Strength d8, Vitality d8
• Cannot Attack or Boost.
• Scout (A): Overcome using Flight. Defend yourself with your Max die. Then, you end up anywhere in the scene.

Sirrek, Incarnate of Hope [Yellow]

• Powers: Toxic d12, Flight d4, Vitality d12, Suggestion d4.
• Cannot Hinder or Overcome.
• Shield of Faith (A): Defend yourself and all nearby Allies using Vitality until the start of your next turn.

Toran, Incarnate of Power [Yellow]

• Powers: Toxic d10, Vitality d6, Strength d12
• Cannot Boost, Hinder, or Overcome.
• Punishing Blow (A): Defend using Strength. Attack with your Max die.

Cyrox, Incarnate of Sin [Red]

• Powers: Toxic d12, Vitality d10, Strength d6
• Cannot Boost or move.
• Toxic Storm (I): Whenever you take a basic Attack action, either use your Max + Min dice to Attack one target, or Attack one target with your Max die and a second with your Mid die.

Out Ability: Hinder an opponent by rolling your single Toxic die.

Aftermath:

Oh, wow. I think I may have broken the game just a touch.

Jay is an absolute nightmare, which is ironic given that they’re a divine champion. In Green they’re pretty weak; they can either stay in default form and be limited to unboosted basic actions, or they can shift into a form that can’t attack or boost and focus on Overcoming and defending themselves.

When things hit Yellow, though, Jay explodes. Both of their alternate modes modify their powerful area attack; one does so by turning it into a flat strong area attack, and the other mode just removes its drawback and makes it extremely powerful. They’ve got an immensely powerful area Defend if they need it, and a strong defend/attack against individual enemies if the area Attack/Hinder isn’t doing it.

And then they hit Red, and every enemy who isn’t immune to toxins just dies.

Poisonous Sin, at this point, rolls d12 + d10 + d8. Then it attacks multiple enemies with Mid and Hinders all of them with Min twice. Then Jay can either hit one person with Max + Min and also Hinder them with Min, or hit one person with Max and a second with Mid and Hinder them both with Min.

Then Jay will Hinder themselves with their Max die.

Then at the start of their turn, they turn that penalty into a bonus for the next Poisonous Sin.

It’s absolute goddamn nonsense. It has just enough vulnerabilities that I think it’s playable (can’t work against toxic-immune enemies, can’t work against highly mobile enemies who get away, and you pin yourself down) but I honestly think there’s a possibility that after seeing this in play for a couple sessions I might request a rebuild to be less overwhelming.

Hah, just this old retired mischievous wisecrackin’ hero. : )

I love how you just smoothly transitioned into “and then they channel the incarnate of blah-de-blah” like that’s just something one expects in this situation. XD

I’m surprised you didn’t go with Incarnate for a name!

Well, there’s an easy answer for that, which is that I did not think of it. Because yeah, that is much better.

But now, our final character! Let’s just jump right in with…

Step 1: Background

We’re Struggling. Somehow, I put this off for the entire run. Spoiler alert: This is going to be the worst character that I build, a fact that I already know because I’ve got to be both Struggling and Divided. But hopefully I’ll build someone who’s at least interesting!

Meet Danielle Ducat. Daisy is a down-on-her-luck waiter working a dead-end job. Her life sucks, her boss works for the mob, and she’s just generally having a bad run of luck. Danielle has Finesse d8, Banter d6, and Criminal Underworld d6, because Struggling gives you extra bad dice instead of useful ones.

Danielle gets a Responsibility Principle, and as the perfect Everyman… well, that’s her Principle.

Step 2: Power Source

Meet Danni Ducat. Danni has it all. She’s the youngest assistant producer to Megalopolis Action 5 News, and she’s on the radar for another promotion after her amazing story about the Freedom Seven stopping Duke Bladesworn. She’s in a great relationship, she goes to the best parties, and she’s just generally having a great time.

Until one morning, when she got out of bed, opened her window, and saw a massive figure in the sky, followed momentarily by a wave of purple energy, followed momentarily by the dissolution of her entire reality.

The cascade of destruction that followed Oblivaeon opened cracks across countless realities, and for just a moment, Danni’s soul fell through them. There was a rush of impossibility as she saw the entire Multiverse, every possible life that she could have lived, laid out in front of her. And then she fell into Danielle Ducat.

There are now two people inside Danielle – a struggling waitress, and a woman with a view of everything that ever was and ever will be, charged with cosmic energies.

So Danni has Awareness d8, Cosmic d8, and Precognition d6. Because her power source is Multiverse, she’s also trading a Green Ability (oh no) for a d6 (oh noooo) in Presence.

For Yellows, she is going to need a Boost. Power from Beyond lets her use her Awareness for a persistent one, then make an Attack. She can also use Reality Scorned to Attack someone with cosmic energy and then Hinder them.

Step 3: Archetype

So, our little bundle of d8s and d6s is definitely Divided. This means we roll d10, d8, d6 to see what else we’ve got. Results of 10, 7, and 3 give us access to Physical Powerhouse, Armored, Robot/Cyborg, Transporter, and Gadgeteer.

After reviewing my options, I think I’m going to be odd. We’re taking Armored! Being a multiversal being in a universe that isn’t multiversal any more means that both Danielle and Danni are surprisingly hard to kill. This gives us access to Stone (my very last required power!) d10, Insight d8, and Fitness d6. Danni can reshape stone using her cosmic energies.

In both of her forms, Ducat is Armored, taking less damage. Her Pointed Words use her Insight to deliver an attack that can’t be resisted, because it’s talking someone down, whereas her Living Bulwark attacks with Stone and defends someone else. Finally, she can Deflect some of the damage that she would receive onto others; attacking her creates weird feedback that is very unpleasant.

Now things get bad.

The two Ducats are able to share their body. Usually Danni is in the background, but she erupts outwards when things go badly wrong, or when Danielle focuses and painfully lets go.

Next I have to choose one or two options – either each Ducat has access to exactly half of these Qualities and Powers, getting nothing in return, or one of them has access to her Qualities and the other has access to her Powers.

You have to split your sheet in half, it takes actions to swap between halves, and unlike Modular or Form-Shifter you get absolutely no benefit for this.

I’m going to go with the Qualities / Powers split, because it at least lets me use two Qualities with Danielle and two powers with Danni, which is going to be somewhat less punishing.

Danielle gets a second Responsibility Principle. Danielle is a born Sidekick; she helps out, trying to get a handle on the weird world that she’s a part of.

Step 4: Personality

I get two Personalities for the Ducats! Danielle is Sarcastic, because that’s what’s left. Danni, however, could be Impulsive, Alluring, or Analytical. Impulsive hurts my status die even more, so let’s go with Alluring.

My Roleplaying Personality only applies to Danielle, so I’m going to go with “Multiple Perspectives” d8. In this form, she can listen to Danni’s perspective and spot things that one mind couldn’t. (Danni does not, as a rule, take advantage of this benefit.)

Step 5: Red Abilities

There’s no way around “you need to have Qualities or Powers” for this step. I think it will usually be Danni in a pinch, so let’s take two Power-based Red Abilities. Reliable Aptitude for Awareness lets Danni reroll her Min die whenever she’s being aware, which is going to be almost always, and a charged-up Cosmic Blast lets her burn her bonuses for overwhelming firepower.

Step 6: Retcon

We’re boosting the Red Die again. An extra d6 won’t help anything, and more Red Abilities won’t do much. I think this boost applies to both Personalities, even if only Danielle’s applies for health purposes.

Step 7: Health

Danielle gets to use Stone to calculate Health, which means she has (8 + Red 10 + Stone 10 + 4) 32 Health.

Step 8: Alias

Danielle let Danni pick their alias. Danni went with Bedrock. Danielle actually really likes that.

Character Sheet

Bedrock

Alias: Danielle (Danni) Ducat

Background: Struggling, Power Source: Multiverse, Archetype: Divided (Armored), Personality: Sarcastic / Alluring

Principles: Everyman [Responsibility], Sidekick [Responsibility]

• Roleplaying: You’re just a normal person. When needed, you can fade into a crowd. You always seem to be where the trouble is; you’re never too far away when a crisis strikes the group you sidekick for.
• Minor Twists: Which hero did you make look good at your own expense? What hero has to save you?
• Major Twists: How are you completely out of your league? What lesson did you ignore that’s now getting you in big trouble?

As Danielle

Status Dice: Green d8, Yellow d8, Red d10

Health: 32 (Green 32-24, Yellow 23-12, Red 11-1)

Qualities:

• Finesse (Physical) d8
• Insight (Social) d8
• Multiple Perspectives (RP) d8
• Banter (Social) d6
• Fitness (Physical) d6
• Criminal Underworld (Info) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Everyman (A): Overcome when using a bonus made by another hero and use
• your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of the Sidekick (A): Overcome a challenge that has already flummoxed a more senior teammate and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Armored (I): Take 1 less physical or energy damage in Green, 2 less damage in Yellow, and 3 less damage in Red.
• Pointed Words (A): Attack with Insight. Ignore all penalties on this attack, ignore all Defense actions, and it cannot be affected by Reactions.
• Deflect ®: When you would be dealt damage, you may deal damage to a nearby target equal to the amount reduced by your Armored.
• Defensive Transformation (A/I): The first time you take damage or change zones in a scene, you must change into Danni. You can also transform by taking an action and taking damage equal to a roll of your current status die.

Yellow Abilities:

None

Red Abilities:

None

Out Ability: Hinder an opponent by rolling your single Insight die.

As Danni:

Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d12

Health: 32 (Green 32-24, Yellow 23-12, Red 11-1)

Powers:

• Stone (Materials) d10
• Awareness (Intellectual) d8
• Cosmic (Energy) d8
• Precognition (Psychic) d6
• Presence (Intellectual) d6

Green Abilities:

• Principle of the Everyman (A): Overcome when using a bonus made by another hero and use
• your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
• Principle of the Sidekick (A): Overcome a challenge that has already flummoxed a more senior teammate and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
• Armored (I): Take 1 less physical or energy damage in Green, 2 less damage in Yellow, and 3 less damage in Red.
• Living Bulwark (A): Attack with Stone. Defend another target with your Min die.
• Deflect ®: When you would be dealt damage, you may deal damage to a nearby target equal to the amount reduced by your Armored.
• Revert (I): At the end of the current scene, turn into Danielle.

Yellow Abilities:

• Awareness of the Cosmos (A): Boost yourself with Awareness. Use your Max die. That bonus is persistent and exclusive. Then, Attack with your Min die.
• Reality Scorned (A): Attack using Cosmic. If your target survives, Hinder them with your Max die.

Red Abilities:

• Charged-Up Cosmic Blast (A): Attack using Cosmic, and at least one bonus. Use your Max + Mid + min dice. Destroy all your bonuses, adding each of them to this Attack first, even if they are exclusive.
• Reliable Awareness (I): When you take any action with Awareness, you may reroll your Min die before determining effects.

Out Ability: Hinder an opponent by rolling your single Insight die.

Aftermath:

I think this is a workable character. She is not good, but she is workable.

Part of it is that I took three of the worst options in the game and smashed them together to try and offset each others’ problems. I probably should have planned ahead and gotten rid of Struggling a while ago, but I was vaguely thinking that extra bad dice might make the Divided problem less drastic. Similarly, I just plain forgot that Multiverse gives you a bad Power die instead of a good Green Ability; for some reason I thought it gave a d10, which I was also going to use to try and offset Divided’s problems.

As it is, I don’t think the extra dice really helped. Danielle is not great at anything. Her best die pool is 3d8, her only real abilities in action scenes are deflecting damage and low-power attacks that at least can’t be stopped, and she literally gets no other options in Yellow or Red. No Boosts, no Hinders, no Defends, no multi-targeting, nothing. Fortunately, she won’t be doing much in action scenes, because once she gets hit she transforms automatically, but that still means not having good options in the opening actions.

Danni is better, but not great. She has a d12 Red die, she has one d10 and a broadly applicable d8, and she has attacks that Defend or Hinder, plus a pretty strong ultimate attack in Red. She’s only got two Yellow options, and thanks to the combination of Divided and Multiverse she doesn’t get extra Greens to make up for it; instead, Armored is working double-time just to get her to the basic number of Abilities most people have automatically.

In general, though, this is just a weaker character than I would get if I made Danni’s emergence entirely a roleplaying thing, using the already existing Principle of the Split which isn’t a Responsibility Principle and thus is not available to Divided Characters!!

I’m blocked from using any superpowers in normal mode, I’m blocked from using any skills in super-mode, I’m blocked from any Abilities that use the wrong trait in either mode (a fact that will be much worse for heroes that don’t take things that don’t key to any Power or Quality, something I did as much as possible) and I literally get nothing, nothing at all, to make up for it except maybe the ability to have slightly different Status dice in my two forms.

I’m legitimately unsure what the design choice for Divided here was. Like, Form-Shaper is fun, and Modular is probably unnecessary but you can make it sing (and it’s probably decent just as an example of how weird the system is willing to let custom Archetypes get.) But Divided… the only use cases for Divided seem to be to create mechanical weaknesses for characters for whom that’s narratively appropriate, but with no compensation for it.

Divided exists to build Ra in the RPG. But it does it badly.

Yeah, I think that’s accurate (it also exists to model people like Muerto, who has two very distinct modes of being but not the extra number of modes that Modular gives you) but I find it weird that after demonstrating some really slick design in Form-Changer and Modular in terms of trade-offs, Divided just shrugs and doesn’t offer anything in trade.

I can imagine a version of Divided that either gives you stronger dice in each form at the cost of versatility, or more versatility at the cost of limiting how much of it you have in each form, but that would require the various divided states to either each give extra dice or to step dice up.

I can the various ways to change forms all being set up so that there’s a small cost to changing back and forth, but right now the cost to change is massive, which is doubly odd because there’s no advantage to having a second form for that cost to offset.

It’s weird to me. Especially because everything else seems so solid. More solid than before I built twenty characters, to be honest; there are only a few things that feel notably outside the mean, and Divided is the only one that I would say "no, that is just plain bad.

Yeah, Ra, who died before the RPG started. I guess they were just being considerate to folks who’d want to build him anyway. Divided is . . . odd. Let’s leave it at that.

Alright, all twenty Heroes are made. It’s time to guess their teams!

The magician Ilamar the Inscrutable and the mage-knight Runesword team up with the magical selkie Deep freeze and the mystic-relic-wielding Covenant!

The aliens Montage and Refuge have come to Earth where they team up with Synergist and Fernwick, who are also powered from beyond the stars!

The tech-using Nanoswarm, Archie The Adventurer, and The Artificer team up with the cybernetic Atomizer and the robotic Determinator!

The Regulator and The Channeler, whose powers are drawn from otherworldly dimension, team up with The Line and Bedrock, who hail from other realities!

The formerly villainous Doctor Cobalt and former Citizen of the Sun Breakguard team up with the rageful Commodore Ironclad!

I hope I got some right.

I’d argue it moreso exists to create the Hulk

Oh, 100% the Hulk, but I was at least giving them the Legally Their Idea credit.

Whoa, I can’t believe it’s done! This has been real, real good.

I need to do a little info gathering tomorrow, and then I can start my own (admittedly much shorter) attempt at using everything possible in the core book.

Thank you! But it’s not quite done - I’ve got five team updates to go.

And fjur: you didn’t get any full teams, but you spotted a lot of the pairings that went into them. Let’s start pulling back the curtain with…

Team 1: The Champions of Tomorrow

Members: Covenant, Montage, Ilamar the Inscrutable, and Channeler

Story:

The Champions of Tomorrow were formed by the alien known as Montage, who came to Earth in the aftermath of Oblivaeon’s devastation to witness the world where it all happened. Montage’s visions of the future led him to believe that there were three souls critical to stopping a new catastrophe that had been birthed by the aftermath of the terrible being’s death, a catastrophe that he couldn’t quite see the details of.

Montage’s visions led him to Covenant, who was already operating as a local superhero and helping restore Ashland, a town on the edge of the ruins of San Alonso. He approached her and explained his origins, and while she was a bit dubious she was happy to have help.

Meanwhile, Ilamar and Coco were in search of the rabbit’s mysterious mission, and came across Channeler. Jay recognized Coco as being a type of being that they had seen before, and decided that this was a sign to return to heroism. The two also traveled to Ashland, largely because Ilamar had a gig there, and wound up encountering Covenant and Montage while investigating a rogue necromancer raising the ghosts of people killed in San Alonso to try and find the remnants of the engery that had destroyed them.

Now, the Champions of Tomorrow are fighting to make Ashland safe, while also trying to figure out the nature of their visions and what the challenge that has gathered them all together is…

Qualities:

When it comes to Qualities, the Guardians are lacking a few things that would make their lives easier. They’re solid in the socializing department, have decent ability to navigate physical challenges, and possess substantial knowledge about magic (and somewhat less about space) but they don’t have any investigative skills between them. This fits for a team that mostly functions by waiting for a puzzle to come to them and then trying to solve it.

Powers:

Wide spread of powers, too. Montage wields cosmic energies and has a decent physical background. Covenant is heavily telepathic, Channeler leans in on toxic power but with a background in the classic flying brick when they need it, and Ilamar summons animals and controls the weather.

In Action Scenes:

In Green, Ilamar takes the lead, with a strong status die, area-effect Hinders, and the ability to take multiple actions. Covenant can support by using her Telepathy to boost the team’s attacks and overcomes, Channeler can move quickly to deal with anyone trying to flank the crew, and Montage is mostly a brick who creates one-time boosts and charges in to fight.

In Yellow, Channeler starts to take the lead on clearing out minions with toxic storms and defending the team against major attacks. Ilamar pulls in animal helpers and starts manipulating his dice by unchecking Collections each turn, Montage can give his allies sizeable boosts and focus his attacks on the environment and newly-arrived enemies, and Covenant targets major threats with attacks that hinder, after taking a moment to Boost herself (and Defend the others if they take too many hits.)

Finally, in Red Covenant coverts minions who are feeling uncertain about this whole thing, and Channeler destroys the rest of them, Ilamar creates a swarm of helpers to overwhelm anyone who survives Channeler and obliterates anyone that the team has piled penalties on, and then Montage strips the battlefield of any bonuses and penalties the villains have created and launches attacks that push himself back into Yellow.

They’re a pretty solid action crew.

Overview:

This is a team that works well together. They’re not laser-focused on supporting each other’s niches, and if they were being built at the same time together I would have suggested someone take more Mental skills, but that kind of reactive uncertainty fits for their thematic goals and gives them a fun vulnerability to secrets-based villains.

Team 2: Best Practices

Members: The Regulator, Atomizer, Deep Freeze, Determinator

Story: Harrison Kent, after his terrible experience with the rogue scientists in his own lab, began to worry about what other corporations and secretive groups might be doing with alien technology, remnants from other worlds, and recovered super-science. He first examined his own labs, and was surprised and somewhat concerned to learn that an offshoot of the extradimensional research that had almost killed him had accidentally produced a sentient AI. Fortunately, he was able to learn that K-17 was friendly, and put the robot on the payroll for an investigative unit to look into misuses of science, especially dimensional science.

Their efforts shut down a few labs, which is where they encountered and freed Siobhan, who decided that she approved of their efforts and joined the team. Most recently, an investigation of an entirely off-books facility that had been the subject of a mysterious power failure led the team to Patience, who was living nearby and trying to investigate her own background. Kent doesn’t know who she is, but he wants to keep an eye on her in case her programming is dangerous, and in the mean time she’s a great addition to the team…

Qualities:

This team has a wide array of useful Qualities, with good knowledge of science and magic, investigative skills, general social abilities, and a solid stealth expert. They balance each others’ abilities well without overlapping too badly.

Powers:

Best Practices is mobile. Regulator and Determinator can teleport, Deep Freeze uses her shapeshifting to cover ground, and even Atomizer has some noticeable mobility. Everyone also has access to energy generation of different types, which is great for fights, with a handful of useful secondary abilities for the weird edge-case situations.

In Action Scenes:

In Green, the Regulator takes the lead as the only hero without a d6 Status die. He can boost himself up, attack people while burning himself down, and tank damage. Deep Freeze has a variety of versatile Attacks that can hit multiple people or cover her allies, Atomizer throws boosts around like candy while drawing fire, and Determinator moves around enemies while creating individual strong Boosts or focusing on Overcomes.

In Yellow, the Regulator can hurt himself to burn lots of people or hit a couple people and heal. Deep Freeze gets her Boost in and starts shifting around the battlefield defending her friends, Atomizer starts blasting with nuclear fire while healing up, and Determinator also has a mass attack, plus the ability to mess with enemies and reroll his pools.

Finally, in Red everyone gets hyped. Deep Freeze and Determinator hop to d12, while Atomizer reaches d10 and even Regulator stays at d8. The Regulator can create a host of minions and get around the scene, Deep Freeze either takes massive attacks or lots of actions, Atomizer also gets mobility while throwing around Hinders or focus-fires major enemies by evading their defenses, and Determinator locks down some enemies, while creating absolutely gigantic boosts for his friends.

Overview:

This is my favorite team and I am definitely doing something with them. I don’t know what. I just love the idea so much.

The only thing that I would change if I were designing them from scratch would be to suggest that maybe not every character needs an area attack in Green or Yellow.

Ooh, the team analysis is a lot more detailed than anything I could come up with!

Team 3: Rapid Force Alpha​

Members: Commodore Ironclad, Refuge, The Line, Nanoswarm, Doctor Cobalt

Story: The American government is growing increasingly concerned about the growing superhuman population of the Earth, especially after the dangers of Oblivaeon. A decision is made to create their own, purely American rapid-response team to handle natural disasters, rescue operations, and the occasional supervillain attack. Commodore Ironclad is placed in command of this team, but it’s honestly kind of clear that the government is working from the bottom of the barrel here in terms of options.

Refuge signs on as an ambassador from Plava’Col, trying to show Americans that her people are trustworthy, and the Americans are up for having a Maerynian that they can actually watch in action. Nanoswarm’s mother was a product of military research, and she invented her devices on a military budget, so she’s pressured into joining. The Line is a true patriot, albeit one from another world, and… well, Doctor Cobalt is on a work-release program where a lot of people can keep an eye on him, if we’re being honest.

Their goals seem noble enough, for now. But will the government try to lead them into increasingly political actions, or will they be allowed to do what they do best – save lives?

Qualities:

Another good spread of qualities, although a bit light on investigating in favour of physical action and social prowess. There’s a lot of science and technology knowledge, and Nanoswarm adds a ton of heroic and historical insight, but the team is lost in more magical arenas, and most of them are not too subtle. In general, Nanoswarm and The Line are charging in as bricks, with Refuge and Cobalt hanging back, and Ironclad shifting around as needed.

Powers:

Hilariously, almost the entire team has low ratings in Presence, and there’s some serious gadgetry overlap going on. Everyone is creating something, either elements, materials, or in the case of The Line, duplicates of himself. There aren’t any pure bricks, although everyone has a bit of everything.

In Action Scenes:

In Green, Refuge and Doctor Cobalt are the strong starters, with the others starting weak. Ironclad can create good Hinders and is generally reliable, the Line attacks nearby people and starts building and boosting minions, and Nanoswarm is a great Boost and Hinder engine who can slow down enemies or give bonuses to The Line to help his minions be better, or can shift to being a brick alongside him. Meanwhile Refuge is blowing enemies around the scene and evading hits, and Cobalt is throwing fire and lightning at everyone in sight.

In Yellow, there is some ludicrous healing going on: Refuge starts medic’ing, sticking an area heal on her basic actions or making attacks that let her defend for the round, Cobalt can combine area healing with a Boost or throw a lot of Boosts and Hinders around, while also becoming immune to lightning, The Line can heal himself with a boost, make attacks that hinder, and protect himself with his duplicates, and Nanoswarm can attack weakened enemies to heal, attack and defend, or just hit stronger enemies repeatedly, plus tie a Boost into her defenses. Ironclad can take a teamwork lead to provide big boosts at his own expense seriously pumping up the others, or focus on attacking others and boosting himself.

Finally, when things eventually reach Red Refuge and Cobalt start to falter, as everyone else takes the lead. Refuge can still tank area attacks and becomes a phenomenal medic, and Cobalt can either fall back to a full defense or pour everything into an attack that might destroy him. Ironclad can deal damage and tank hits at the cost of effectiveness, stumbling along, while the Line creates a horde of minions and then hits people like a truck. Meanwhile, Nanoswarm is throwing around her fun d10+d12+d12+Bonus dice while solving every problem and locking down villains hardcore. Combined with all of them being nigh-unkillable thanks to their healing, and they’ve got most situations solved.

Overview:

This is a very, very powerful team. The sheer amount of healing thrown around, combined with the various people who can hurt themselves to do things, is a wonderful combo, and they’ve got a good balance of “Refuge and Cobalt start strong, and then Nanoswarm and The Line build up to unstoppable, while Ironclad draws fire and dramatically helps everyone else at the cost of his own effectiveness.”

Narratively, they are not a team that really understands each other, but their origin works for that. They’re all on this team for a different reason, most of those reasons kind of idealistic in maybe not the best way, but they will learn to get along and save the day.

So, I had a different name for this team originally, but with @Godai’s permission, I am going to be changing it.

Please meet:

History’s Mysteries (With Archie and Eleanor)

Members: Archie the Adventurer, The Artificer, Runesword

Story: The story of History’s Mysteries begins with Archibald Hapsbury, intrepid explorer and media personality. He’s been exploring all sorts of ancient places and mysterious ruins, and he organized a whole TV show about it. As part of that show, he put out a call for a co-host, and his team eventually decided on Eleanor Dulac – she and Archie have an antagonistically friendly relationship, with Archie interested in the beauty of the places he sees and Eleanor gushing over their historical and cultural significance. It tested very well with focus groups.

Everything got a lot more complicated when the pair ended up in a fight against a dangerous pack of wights off the coast of England, and the battle awakened Sir Teylor from their ancient slumber. Teylor joined the fray, and has only since begun to understand what the modern world is – and the addition of a third cast member has sent ratings through the roof. Everyone loves the interaction between these three, and merchandise is flying off the shelves – which means more money for conservative and ecological protection, and more delves into the deep!

Will the adventures of these three heroes remain pure, or will the lure of fame and fortune draw them from their respective desires? Only time will tell…

Qualities:

I’m noticing a trend and it may be my fault. There’s a lot of combat skill on this team, really good understanding of magic, history, and technology, and some okay social skills, but once again pretty limited deductive and investigative ability outside of ruin-diving, which they are very good at.

Of course, with only three members History’s Mysteries are more limited than your average team, but it still works. A fourth member acting as the crew’s manager, working behind the scenes and investigating, would probably round them out well.

Powers:

Two bricks and an ornithopter isn’t a bad mix. Archie has a lot of close-up versatility, Eleanor has a lot of cool stuff and some good ability to handle the ruin-crawling aspects of the job, and Teylor is a radiant energy-absorbing swordmaster which is always nice in mystical places.

In Action Scenes:

In Green, none of History’s Mysteries are that strong, with d6s and d8s to draw on, but they make do. Archie is pretty defensive from the get-go, or can go fully flexible and take multiple different actions at some effect. Runesword can powerfully hinder and maybe attack, or just go for strong attacks, and Artificer can Hinder groups of enemies to set them up or do hit and run tricks to divert attention away from her.

In Yellow, Archie starts to shine, setting up long-term boosts and chewing through groups of enemies. Runesword shifts focus to the environment, and pulls apart enemies who’ve been boosting, while defending the others if needed. And Artificer also sets up big boosts, and then uses her boosts to make area attacks. Notably absent – Artificer getting a lot of boosts from her allies, which is a bit of a shame; Archie can give her something while doing other things, but there aren’t any really strong boost-buddies to overcharge her Abilities.

In Red, Archie uses his defensive skills to protect Eleanor and Teylor, while rapid-fire burning through his health. Teylor shifts to be aggressive, creating a strong bonus for themselves and then unleashing overwhelming attacks that knock themselves down in the process. Finally, the Artificer can drop her ornithopter on a group or focus on overcoming the challenges of the probably now-in-danger ruins.

Overview:

Three-person teams are a bit rough. What this team could really use is someone with a lot of Boosts and some decent healing, who can offer support to the others. Specifically, they could use Refuge, who would be a massive effectiveness boost, provide Archie with solid healing in Red to help him defend better, and also balance out the team by being good in green. But I needed someone to be my three-person team, and I think this showcases a decent example of one.

Narratively, I really like History’s Mysteries, and they could sustain a campaign pretty effectively.

You may already know the last team, since they’re the only ones left, but still, let’s formally meet up with…

Team 5: Fair Play

Members: The Synergist, Fernwick, Breakguard, Bedrock

** Story:** Each member of Fair Play was working towards the same goal from different directions, until Synergist uncovered their activities and brought them together. The Synergist was working through their home city of Kesonee, figuring out the new criminal structures that were hurting innocents. Fernwick was working on things from the opposite end, fighting against police corruption and political misdeeds. Naomi was trying to live a normal life until her foster family was targeted by criminals, and she has been trying to work on fixing corruption and abuse throughout the municipal and regional government. Finally, Bedrock exploded onto the scene, barging into the middle of a major drug deal and drawing a lot of unpleasant criminal attention.

The Synergist discovered the other heroes first, and was quietly observing them. Finally, they decided to approach each of the others, proposing an alliance against the vast criminal conspiracies threatening to turn Kesonee into another Rook City. The members of Fair Play now target powerful and crooked people in Kesonee, bringing them down one at a time. They haven’t revealed their secret identities to one another yet, but they’re growing to trust each other bit by bit.

Qualities:

A little bit focused for plot, but in solid arenas. There’s stealth, investigation, a variety of social skills, some good close-up and ranged combat, and a lot of knowledge of crime, but not much knowledge of anything uncommon – no super-science, no magic, no aliens. Only Breakguard’s Citizen knowledge really backs them up there, plus the whispers in Fernwick’s head from their tech. As long as the team is focusing on their goal, they’re going to do fine. Of course, one of them has a cosmic alien in their backstory and another has alien-derived powers, so…

Powers:

With one team member moving stealthily and manipulating enemies, another one controlling plants and animals, a third acting as a high-speed telekinetic brick, and the last reshaping the earth with cosmic powers, we have a real variety of powers and not much in the way of overlap!

In Action Scenes:

In Green, Fernwick is the strongest and Breakguard is weakest, but everyone has stuff to do. Synergist has a widely-versatile attack that can hinder, weaken, or move around and can redirect damage. Fernwick can give themselves a long-term Boost and then attack more people the more bonuses she has. Breakguard can use telekinesis to give strong boosts or hinders, launch attacks to heal weaker heroes, or defend herself while attacking, and Danielle can snark at people and evade damage, then turn into Bedrock and use the stone to attack and defend teammates.

In Yellow, Synergist can lead strong group attacks and Overcomes, apply wide-area boosts or hinders, or make a stealthy attack and boost himself. Fernwick gets an extra Boost for free, can also create area boosts and hinders, and can unleash massive attacks based on how many bonuses they’ve stacked. Breakguard can go defensive by boosting herself and then removing penalties or healing, defend herself against the environment, or attack and hinder groups of enemies. Bedrock finally gets something interesting to do, developing a powerful boost and then launching overwhelming Cosmic strikes that hinder her enemies.

In Red, everyone is at least moderately capable. Synergist can Boost someone and give them an extra turn, turn penalties into bonuses, and take extra basic actions. Fernwick can hinder themselves in order to heal, which Synergist can turn into a bonus, or drop massive plant Hinders on the enemy (and maybe attack them.) Breakguard’s attacks start automatically Hindering, and she can make people reroll attacks against her. Finally, Bedrock can burn all her bonuses to launch an overwhelming strike, and use her Awareness to keep all her actions functional.

Overview:

Not a bad team! They work together thematically, and they work together mechanically. One of the best strategies might be for everyone to run through Green with Fernwick boosting themselves and Breakguard boosting Fernwick, and then as soon as they hit Yellow Synergist and Fernwick can area boost while Breakguard and Bedrock cover them, then Fernwick starts using their attack that just keeps growing based on their bonuses. Fernwick can easily have five or six bonuses stacked by then, and those attacks are just going to get stronger in Red, when Synergist starts giving Fernwick Boosts and extra turns, and Fernwick can unleash giant attacks and use bonus turns to heal.

The teams have been very cool. So what’s next?

An after-action report!

I’ve learned a lot from working my way through these characters, and it was generally a lot of fun. So let’s just do some quick summaries of what I’m feeling, especially compared to where I was at based on reading through the character creation section initially.

Backgrounds

I am more convinced than ever that lots of dice is not actually an even match for good dice, and that the Backgrounds that give one strong Quality and one strong Power are a lot better than the others. The roleplaying Quality gives a lot of extra versatility for the Qualities section that I hadn’t thought about, which makes a lot of dice less critical. Also, Academic is worse than I expected in terms of what it does to power sources.

I’m still a bit confused by some of the actual dice choices that Backgrounds make, but they basically work. In my own games I’ll be houseruling the weaker Background arrays up a bit, but it’s not a game-breaker.

Power Sources

I’m a little bit less concerned about power source variation than I was, but the general rule that “not giving a d10 to your Archetype is rough” remains true. Cosmos and Multiverse still need better gifts in exchange for losing an Ability, Experimentation can be worked with (Deep Freeze is a tank!) but doesn’t do a lot for itself, but I think my concerns about the others were overblown.

Archetypes

Aside from Divided, which I’m going to put over in a box on its own labelled “the time-out corner”, the Archetypes all seem to fall into a functional spread when you see them inside full builds. I’m feeling a bit more kind towards Close Quarters Combat after building Archie, and Deep Freeze got some serious use out of Armored (two of the Archetypes I had singled out as weaker), and Modular, which I wasn’t sure about, gave me one of the strongest characters of the set. Transporter is still a bit rough, and as mentioned above, Divided needs substantial boosts to be functional.

Other than that, Archetypes are pretty solid (with a minor note, which I will touch on below.)

Personality

I did not change my opinion of the Personalities at all. I still think that in general, the 6/8/10 ones are a bit stronger than the 10/8/6 ones, but having early access to a persistent Boost can flip that. The 6/6/12 are risky, actually riskier than 6/8/10 since you can boost your Red die in the Retcon step, and both of the ones that don’t use the normal array are just bad.

I think that Mischievous is actually a lot worse than I thought it was, though. It gives 6/8/8 and bonus health calculation, but I only built a single character out of 20 who didn’t have at least a d8 for health calculations, and he had a d6. There’s also a hidden penalty due to the smaller red die that I didn’t take into account when I was first looking over these. The absolute best case is turning Red d10 and no Power (26 Health) into Red d8 and a d12 Power (32 Health), which gives 6 bonus health at the cost of a Red step up, and that only works for heroes that both have a d12 die and absolutely nothing in Mental or Athletic.

There are only four Backgrounds that grant d12s, three of which also have a Mental option. There are only three Power Sources that grant d12s, two of which also have Athletic options. And every Archetype allows either an Athletic option, a Mental option, or both, and also three of them require you to take something that will count and a fourth increases the range of what you can take. So literally, the only reason to not have a die in something Health-boosting is if you have specifically chosen to, and die spreads are wide enough that you’re not likely to be forced into that decision. Especially since both Mental and Athletic are very versatile dice for pools.

If you have at least a d8 in something, you’re looking at a Health difference of 0-2 (depending on if your highest die is a d10 or a d12) in exchange for losing a point off every roll in Red, which is terrible. Even if you only have a d6, it’s a maximum difference of 4 Health, which I don’t think is worth it.

Principles

Okay. Let’s talk Principles.

Ultimately speaking, Principles are conceptually very good. They create roleplaying rules that your character can assert (“Mind control can’t make me betray my ideals! My family can be called on for favours! I can breathe in space!”) and give access to interesting Overwhelms that aren’t tied to specific powers and qualities, which is important especially because most of your powers and qualities will mainly be used for Overcomes.

There are only two problems with Principles, really. One is that they are arranged oddly. The other is that they are arranged unevenly.

Arranged Oddly

So, in theory, there are five types of Principle that you can have, and they’re fairly straightforward:

• Esoteric Principles are about having something weird about you.
• Expertise Principles are about a thing that you are very good at.
• Ideals Principles are about the thing that you believe most strongly in.
• Identity Principles are about who you are and how you present yourself.
• Responsibility Principles are about how being a hero interacts with your life.

This seems reasonable, but in practice there are some weird ducks. Most of the Esoteric Principles make sense to me, although I think I’d consider the Principle of the Time Traveller to be more of an Identity thing. Expertise has thirteen very “this is a thing you’re good at” Principles plus “and also there is a mysterious whisper in your head with its own agenda”, which is the most Esoteric thing I’ve ever heard. Dependance is listed as an Ideal – you…. Believing strongly in being addicted to something? Similarly, the Principle of Great Power could be the Principle of Responsibility, but the wording is all about being very good at something, i.e. an expertise. Ambition and Discovery are listed as Identity, but they’re really all about your ideals.

Savagery is… not a good look, in the vein of a few other “not a good look” bits in this book that aren’t deal-breakers, but make me a touch uncomfortable. Being good in nature and disliking ‘civilization’ should not be tied to rage and/or animalistic behaviour. Yes, I know it’s a trope, but there are tropes that shouldn’t be reproduced.

Anyway. Detective is a Responsibility Principle that really feels like it should be Expertise, or possibly Identity; it’s entirely about your ability to spot hidden things and zero percent about how being a hero interacts with your life, and Veteran is definitely an Identity Principle and not a Responsibility one as presented (although you could build a Veteran Principle that is about your military connections and the effects that has had on you.)

None of that is really a big deal, mind you. It just sort of stands out as a little bit weird to me.

Arranged Unevenly

Now this is a bigger deal, both for Guided and Constructed play. Numbers-wise, there are 12 Identity and Responsibility Principles, 13 Esoteric and Ideals Principles, and 14 Expertise Principles. My instinct was that these would be spread fairly evenly, possibly with a slight tilt towards Ideals and Responsibility Principles since an awful lot of superheroes are defined by what they care about and by how their lives are affected by heroing.

This is not the case.

There are a total of 39 possible options for Principles, based on your Background and Archetype, with Modular providing the Principle of Whatever Other Archetype You Pick. On average, that should be just under eight choices per category. As I discussed over the course of this thread in tones of increasing disbelief, we do not hit the average.

There are 14 different options that give Expertise Principles; over a third of the total. Esoteric and Responsibility clock in closer to average, at 8 and 7 choices respectively. Ideals is below average at 6, and there are only four options that give out Identity Principles – three Backgrounds and a single Archetype.

And I don’t know why this happened. It’s weird. It’s not as though having Expertise critical for many of these options – you would think that a Former Villain would be defined by the Ideals that caused them to reform, or that Reality Shapers would have an Esoteric nature. Couldn’t a Created character be more interested in their Identity than what they’re good at? Shouldn’t a Criminal be defined more by why they’re a criminal, with Identity or Responsibility? Maybe a Minion-Maker should be defined by their Identity, it seems important. Those five shifts would take Expertise down to 9, and boost Esoteric to 9 and Ideals and Identity to 7. (Alternately, you could give the Background step two choices instead of one, although that runs the risk of choice paralysis.)

I don’t know if this just happened organically, or if the creators really wanted “be good at a thing” to be the primary way that characters express themselves, but it feels off, especially since “take a Principle that isn’t the one you’ve been assigned” is considered to be an adjustment equal in impact to getting a third Red Ability or an extra die.

Speaking of which…

Retcons

It will surprise no one to learn that Retcons ended up almost exactly as I expected them to. Generally, by the time I was at the end of the process an extra d6 wasn’t worth losing out on being better in the clutch, especially with all of the Abilities already assigned and a decent spread already in existence. Out of my twenty heroes, eight boosted their Red die, eight more picked a third Red option, three grabbed an extra die, and one swapped two dice to fix their concept. Nobody reassigned an Ability or a Principle.

In general, I think that I would have grabbed the extra die more often if it was a d8, and I’m going to stick with that as a houserule. I also am sticking with my Retcon belief that you should get one bonus and one change, instead of one or the other. The changes don’t affect a character’s power particularly, whereas the bonuses really do. I could be persuaded that “change what die an Ability keys off” qualifies as a power-up, since it makes it easier to focus on one particularly strong die, but in general it’s still not a big deal.

So that’s it. We’re all done. Twenty heroes, united in their desire to save the world, and there is nothing else left to do.

Or is there? What is a hero without villains to face?

That’s right, I built eighteen villains to go up against my heroes! Stay tuned…

This is why my very first Houserule is “pick whatever Principles you want”.

It’s good to sort the Principles out by category and restrict them per other bits of character-building, just to cut down on the number of choices you need to make and analysis paralysis.

But I agree, they’re not quite laid out right. And also, Principles are maybe the easiest thing to pick off a long list. Especially the second one; by the time you hit that, you’ve got a really strong idea of who your hero is, and you know what would and would not guide them. At worst, you narrow it down to two or three options and pick from that.

I at least tend to retcon as I go, changing up die sizes, Principles, you name it, as I get closer to understanding who a character is. Unless I’m going for a really stringent “we roll this character!” build, you can fudge things on a level of, “Oh, I would have picked that if I’d known ahead of time.” :B

I think these are great so far.